AEOGA CH30

Hua Yan walked downstairs to find the main hall already packed to the brim with eager diners waiting for their dishes. Many didn’t even have a seat, yet they chose to stand in line, thoroughly unwilling to leave.

Seeing the proprietor come down, a diner who had been waiting for a long time couldn’t help but bellow, “Proprietor, how much longer until the food is served? My stomach is practically roaring down here, just waiting to sample your Squirrel Mandarin Fish.”

The patriarchs of the four great clans had eaten it and praised it; it was a top-tier delicacy personally certified by Grand Commander Liu himself as the number one under heaven. Driven by this grand reputation, they were determined not to leave until they tasted it.

Hua Yan offered an apologetic bow. “I am terribly sorry, everyone. Our little establishment never anticipated such overwhelming business. The fish used in our pavilion are all of the absolute absolute freshness, and the quantity is limited. Today, the kitchen’s ingredients have been completely depleted. If you honored guests wish to eat fish, you may return tomorrow. Huaman Pavilion supplies only one hundred portions every day, closing once they are sold out. We shall conclude our business for today.”

The moment these words were uttered, they naturally provoked a barrage of dissatisfaction and complaints.

“What? Does that mean I’ve been waiting around all this time for nothing?”

“For a newly opened restaurant to put on such airs on its very first day of business, isn’t that a bit unseemly?”

“What Squirrel Mandarin Fish? I bet it’s nothing special anyway. Let’s go, let’s go, I’m heading back to Zhenwei Restaurant to eat Sweet and Sour Carp!”

“With this kind of attitude toward customers, I’m never coming back here again!”

These were the resentful grumbles of the diners who had failed to secure a meal.

Still, someone else, unwilling to accept defeat, spoke up: “The Squirrel Mandarin Fish costs two taels of silver a portion. I will pay four taels—can you prepare one for me?”

Hua Yan remained entirely unmoved, merely offering a polite, regretful smile. “Even if you were to offer four hundred taels, I cannot conjure a fish out of thin air for you.”

This was despite the fact that a whole batch of fish was still swimming and splashing quite vigorously in the back kitchen.

But since he had just declared to the entire crowd that the ingredients were depleted, if he suddenly managed to produce a dish just because someone offered extra money, wouldn’t that be a direct slap to his own face? Hua Yan would absolutely never agree to something that so obviously invited offense.

The man sighed, “What a pity.”

Everyone who hadn’t sampled it felt the loss. A clever housewive cannot cook without rice—since the ingredients were depleted, the restaurant had no choice but to close, which they could actually comprehend. It was just that as diners who had waited for the better part of the day without tasting a legendary delicacy, they naturally felt a bit disgruntled.

On the other hand, the diners who had already eaten and drunk their fill were more than happy to watch the chaos unfold. “It’s fantastic if you don’t come! I intend to return tomorrow anyway. The flavor of this Squirrel Mandarin Fish is absolutely incomparable, and with only one hundred portions available daily, I thank heaven and earth for every competitor I lose.”

“What is there to complain about? Doesn’t this precisely prove that they use fresh, live fish? Or would you prefer to eat stale, dead fish instead?”

“I’ve eaten Zhenwei Restaurant’s Sweet and Sour Carp before, and it genuinely cannot hold a candle to this place’s signature dish.”

Having experienced the brilliance of the Squirrel Mandarin Fish, these individuals felt they had discovered a treasure, so they naturally spoke up in defense of the establishment.

As the two factions bickered back and forth, Wang Yiming lowered his voice to ask Hua Yan, “What’s going on? I distinctly remember we had more than enough ingredients?”

Hua Yan similarly kept his voice down. “I don’t know, it was His Highness the Empress’s instruction.”

Wang Yiming pondered for a moment before slapping his forehead. “I’ve got it! His Highness the Empress wishes to employ hunger marketing!”

Hua Yan didn’t understand commercial jargon, so he tried to deduce it literally. “What is hunger marketing? Making them go hungry while selling things? Isn’t that a complete contradiction?”

Wang Yiming explained, “It means artificially restricting production to create a state where demand far outstrips supply, thereby maintaining high profit margins and a premium price for the product. Most importantly, it establishes a brand identity. His Highness wishes to turn Huaman Pavilion into a prestigious hallmark, and the profits generated by brand value can be astronomical. If there’s any slight drawback to this strategy, it’s that customers who can’t get our product might choose to patronize our competitors—like those people who claimed they were going to Zhenwei Restaurant. However, since the Squirrel Mandarin Fish can only be found here, they won’t find a true substitute anywhere else, and they will eventually come crawling back. His Highness’s strategy yields a hundred benefits without a single harm. Truly brilliant!”

Hua Yan remarked, “Although I don’t quite grasp it, it sounds incredibly formidable.”

Wang Yiming said excitedly, “Give it some time and you’ll see!”

Some time later.

Hua Yan had initially assumed that a limited supply would, to some extent, hinder their business. When they were clearly capable of selling far more, choosing to restrict sales to only one hundred portions a day seemed like a massive financial loss.

Yet, contrary to his expectations, once it was announced that the signature dish was strictly limited on a first-come, first-served basis, the clientele’s enthusiasm for Huaman Pavilion swelled rather than diminished.

The moment Huaman Pavilion opened its doors every morning, the one hundred slots were instantly snapped up. In order to secure a place, many aristocratic and official households instructed their personal servants to camp out at the restaurant’s entrance at specific times, ready to swarm inside the instant the doors parted. There was even a certain hierarchy to it; for instance, the servants of prestigious clans dressed with distinct elegance, and the servants of ordinary officials didn’t dare dispute or jostle with them. Consequently, the individuals who actually managed to dine at Huaman Pavilion were almost exclusively high-ranking court ministers of immense power.

In the beginning, those who failed to secure a meal comforted themselves: It’s just a single dish, how irreplaceable can it truly be? If I can’t eat it, so be it. There are thousands of restaurants out there, must I absolutely visit Huaman Pavilion?

Unfortunately, every official who tasted the Squirrel Mandarin Fish became entirely captivated, singing its praises incessantly and constantly plotting to enjoy it a second time. Grand Commander Liu ran to Huaman Pavilion practically every single day, and the other three great clans were also frequent patrons. These four families, in turn, drove countless other nobles to chase the trend. As a result, if one hadn’t tasted the signature dish of Huaman Pavilion, it felt as though they had completely fallen behind the fashion of Yujing.

Given that the diners capable of securing a slot were all individuals of great authority, over time, having dined on Huaman Pavilion’s signature dish transformed into a symbol of wealth, power, and high social standing. Along with it, the brand of Huaman Pavilion itself grew increasingly high-end and luxurious.

In the past, to flaunt their status, the nobility of Yujing would compete over who was the first to adorn themselves with the latest jade from Langyu Pavilion, don the newest robes tailored by Yunjin Hall, or spend the night with the highest-priced courtesan of Qunfang Tower. Now, if they wished to boast, they needed only to state casually, “I have just dined on the Squirrel Mandarin Fish at Huaman Pavilion,” and they would instantly harvest looks of profound envy, which felt immensely gratifying.

Great noble families even chose to host their banquets exclusively at Huaman Pavilion. Ordering a portion of the Squirrel Mandarin Fish made the gathering feel exceptionally sophisticated, instantly elevating the entire event’s prestige. During standard exchanges between colleagues, one might offhandedly note, “Have you sampled the Squirrel Mandarin Fish from Huaman Pavilion? I had the fortune of trying it once, and the flavor leaves an endless aftertaste.” The other would immediately claim they had tasted it too, proceeding to describe the flavor in meticulous detail and heap lavish praise upon it.

In reality, neither of them had ever actually eaten it; it was done purely for the sake of vanity.

The twin strategies of the celebrity effect and hunger marketing had truly been thoroughly mastered by Lu Xuechao.

Under this extreme imbalance of supply and demand, Huaman Pavilion subsequently introduced a reservation system. Patrons could pay a deposit in advance to secure a ticket for entry, thoughtfully sparing the noble clans from having to dispatch servants to queue up every day. The moment the reservation system was launched, the slots were immediately booked out up to two years in advance. Those who couldn’t secure a reservation saw no hope of dining there, leaving them with no choice but to offer massive sums outside to purchase tickets from anyone willing to sell. While a single portion of Squirrel Mandarin Fish cost two taels of silver, a dining ticket for Huaman Pavilion was inflated on the black market to a staggering two thousand taels of silver—and even then, it remained exceptionally difficult to procure.

Upon hearing this, Hua Yan was utterly shocked. “Two thousand taels? Is—is it truly necessary? It’s merely a single dish!”

Wang Yiming said with deep gravity, “This is what we call brand premium and market speculation. His Highness the Empress is truly a genius at generating wealth.”

If Lu Xuechao wished to be a bit more ruthless, he could have scalped the tickets outside himself for two thousand taels a piece, reaping exorbitant profits. However, he wasn’t so devoid of conscience. The people of Changli do not exploit their own countrymen. His goal was merely to rapidly expand the business and forge a prominent brand in a short timeframe, necessitating a few aggressive tactics, but pushing it any further would cross into malicious behavior.

The explosive popularity of Huaman Pavilion naturally provoked intense jealousy among its peers. Zhenwei Restaurant, witnessing the vast majority of its clientele drawn away, found that the patrons who did come to dine only did so as a secondary alternative, constantly disparaging their Sweet and Sour Carp as inferior to Huaman Pavilion’s Squirrel Mandarin Fish. The owner could no longer sit idly by. Possessing some connections, the proprietor of Zhenwei Restaurant went to great lengths to acquire a dining ticket for Huaman Pavilion. Arriving with a thoroughly critical mindset to sample the Squirrel Mandarin Fish, he was instantly brought to his knees in admiration, promptly joining the ranks of those begging for tickets.

While the owner of Zhenwei Restaurant was an upright individual, the market did not lack competitors with foul intentions who preferred underhanded tactics to ruin others. A rival restaurant, consumed by envy over Huaman Pavilion’s skyrocketing success, actually attempted to send an agent to infiltrate Huaman Pavilion’s kitchen and lace the food with croton powder. Since Huaman Pavilion’s clientele consisted entirely of powerful officials, if even a single minister suffered an ailment, the restaurant would undoubtedly be shut down and prosecuted.

Little did they know they had struck a massive iron wall. Because Huaman Pavilion’s guests were exceptionally wealthy and noble, its security measures were top-tier. Before the saboteur could even slip into the building, he was apprehended for acting suspiciously, and a packet of croton powder was uncovered from his person. Hua Yan sneered at the packet before immediately directing his staff to report the matter to the authorities.

The mastermind behind the plot still harbored lingering hopes. He assumed that since it was merely croton powder and not arsenic, it wouldn’t provoke a severe response from the magistracy; at most, a few low-ranking bailiffs would show up. Who could have foreseen that the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Fu Xinian, would arrive in person? This was an imperial enterprise; for someone to attempt sabotage here was an intolerable offense.

Seeing Fu Xinian, Hua Yan feigned unfamiliarity, weeping tears of distress as he voiced his grievances: “Lord Fu, I have been conducting my business with absolute integrity. The guests who frequent our pavilion are all prominent officials of the imperial court; if anything happens to them, a small establishment like mine cannot bear the blame. This culprit did not merely wish to harm my humble restaurant; he undoubtedly intended to assassinate an official of the realm. You must investigate this thoroughly.”

Watching him perform, Fu Xinian’s lips twitched slightly as he forced himself to maintain a stern expression. “…This official shall investigate the matter clearly.”

His subordinates: “…” Had their eyes deceived them? Their unyielding, ruthlessly cold Lord Fu, who spent every single day solving cases with a frozen face, had actually just smiled?

When Fu Xinian handled a matter, his efficiency went without saying. In less than half a day, the malicious proprietor was taken into custody, and his restaurant was permanently sealed.

Following this incident, no one ever dared to cause trouble for Huaman Pavilion again. The more perceptive individuals immediately discerned that the backing behind Huaman Pavilion was far from ordinary. Otherwise, how could a mere case of commercial sabotage instantly alarm the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice? That was a official deeply valued by the Emperor himself.

With all manner of malicious forces banished, Huaman Pavilion’s business flourished day by day, its grand reputation eventually echoing all the way into the imperial palace.

Consequently, the reigning Emperor summoned Huaman Pavilion to present their cuisine. After sampling the Squirrel Mandarin Fish, he praised it immensely and personally inscribed a horizontal plaque for the establishment.

—During the initial renovations of Huaman Pavilion, the interior had been completely overhauled, yet the exterior plaque had deliberately been left untouched, precisely in anticipation of this very day.

Having secured the handwritten calligraphy of Xie Chongjin, Huaman Pavilion’s value skyrocketed even further, firmly cementing its status as the undisputed number one restaurant in Yujing, while the Squirrel Mandarin Fish completely transformed into a legendary dish.

This renown even spread from Yujing across the entirety of Changli; citizens throughout the realm came to know that the nobility of the capital favored Huaman Pavilion’s Squirrel Mandarin Fish, and that even the Son of Heaven spoke of it with absolute admiration.

While Huaman Pavilion’s business raged like fire, the midsummer month of June arrived, bringing with it increasingly oppressive heat.

Inside the Palace of Layered Snow, a group of companions sat gathered, each holding a bowl of chilled mung bean soup. A platter sat nearby filled with sliced watermelon, showing a vibrant red flesh brimming with refreshing juice.

Xie Chongjin allowed Lu Xuechao to take a bite from the reddest, sweetest tip of a watermelon wedge before quietly consuming the remainder of the slice himself.

Hua Yan scooped up a spoonful of the chilled mung bean soup, his face the absolute picture of bliss. “The mung bean soup prepared by Your Highness is simply divine! In this sweltering summer heat, a bowl of chilled mung bean soup is practically saving my life.”

Fu Xinian nodded in profound agreement.

Qin Yulong took a massive bite of watermelon, exclaiming, “Eating this watermelon is incredibly satisfying. I have never encountered a watermelon this large and sweet in all of Changli. Young Master Lin, how on earth did you cultivate this?”

Heren Xi was equally curious. The state of Qifeng was legendary for its abundance of fruits and melons, yet a watermelon of this immense size, high water content, vibrant red hue, and rich sweetness was something he had never experienced even back home in Qifeng, let alone in Changli.

Lin Chanzhi offered a shy smile. “I am glad you all enjoy it. As summer was approaching, when I sowed the crops a few months ago, I happened to plant some watermelons along the way. They are perfect for dispelling the heat now.”

Liu Yansheng immediately detected a commercial opportunity. “If we take this mung bean soup and watermelon outside to sell, we can definitely command an excellent price in this weather.”

Shen Hezhou pressed a hand to his forehead. “Your eyes are truly fixed entirely on money.”

Lu Xuechao spoke up: “Hua Yan, add them to Huaman Pavilion’s menu.”

Shen Hezhou: “…”

Wang Yiming stated with absolute jubilation, “I’ve done the calculations! Excluding the costs of materials and labor, Huaman Pavilion cleared a net profit of twenty thousand taels of silver this month alone! If we factor in the mung bean soup and offer watermelon as a post-meal dessert… hiss, that is an immense fortune.”

Xie Chongjin leisurely finished his watermelon, then casually remarked, “In accordance with established custom, every June calls for a journey to the south to escape the summer heat.”

The moment these words were spoken, the companions paused in surprise, their excitement instantly flaring up.

Liu Yansheng’s eyes illuminated. “Does this mean we get to go on a vacation?”

Fu Xinian let out a sigh of relief. “Can we finally take a rest?”

Hua Yan was ecstatic. “Fantastic! I have long wished to behold the scenery of the south!”

“Do not celebrate too early,” Xie Chongjin poured cold water on their enthusiasm. “Only We and the Empress shall depart. The rest of you shall remain in Yujing to continue working diligently.”

Everyone: “…”

Preposterous! How could there be an Emperor who exploits his subordinates to such a shameless degree!

Lu Xuechao cast a sideways glance at him.

Xie Chongjin surreptitiously grasped Lu Xuechao’s hand beneath the table.

He remembered that during the times he had been controlled by the players, whenever they journeyed south each year, he would always bring a massive entourage along while leaving Qingshu entirely isolated within the palace.

Therefore, on this occasion, he would take only him.

This would be a journey of absolute freedom belonging solely to the two of them.