Chapter 134: Bullying Him Again?
Wen Yao’s eyes sparkled. “Sister, you’re amazing now.”
Qiu Rongrong blushed slightly at the praise, a little embarrassed. “In the past, I only knew the teachings that a woman must follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues—obedient to her father before marriage, her husband after marriage, and her sons after her husband’s death. I used to think that was unfair, but as a woman, there were so many things I was helpless against. No matter how much grievance I suffered, I endured it all.
But things are different now. You helped me realize that women should also have their own pursuits, not just fight tooth and nail over petty gains within the walls of the inner residence. Spending an entire life like that was never what I wanted.”
“Then what do you want out of life, Sister?” Wen Yao asked curiously.
Qiu Rongrong’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her. “To make money, of course! You don’t know—before, I always thought my father and brothers had it easy in business. I never understood how they made so much money.
It wasn’t until after I got married and had dowries of my own—shops and businesses—that I realized doing business was no easy task. Luckily, the people I brought with me from the Qiu family were all loyal old retainers. Even though I didn’t understand everything, I’d grown up hearing about it, so I picked up bits here and there. Now, I learn from the uncles and stewards I brought with me every day, and it’s getting easier and easier.
Watching that shining silver flow into the accounts—it’s so much more satisfying than currying favor with that damned man.”
Wen Yao burst out laughing, swaying from side to side. “What about Old Madam Xie? She’s okay with it?”
Qiu Rongrong confidently adjusted the hairpin in her hair and smiled. “She’s the easiest to deal with. Right now, if I have anything in abundance, it’s money. I just throw silver at her. If she comes to cause trouble and I’m in a good mood, I give her some money to send her off. If I’m in a bad mood, I say I’m sick and ignore everything—leave the whole house for her to manage. After doing that twice, she gave up real quick.”
Wen Yao couldn’t help but give her a big thumbs-up. “That’s my sister!”
Qiu Rongrong gave her a playful smack at being teased, then continued, “And then there’s the eldest son.” As she spoke, a trace of ridicule curled on her lips.
“Speaking of which, I really have to thank you for the reminder. If it weren’t for that, I would’ve never realized what they were really plotting. They sent the eldest son—his favorite—to the clan school, and kept my Yi’er at home under the pretense of raising him, but really to control me. Do you know how much silver I had to hand over every year for that precious eldest son of his?”
Wen Yao’s face filled with curiosity. “How much?”
Qiu Rongrong held up two fingers. “Two thousand taels. A full two thousand taels! What kind of clan school costs that much? I asked, and they said it included tuition, living expenses for the eldest son, and ‘gifts’ for the main household.
‘Gifts’—hah! Distant relatives clinging on like leeches. If it weren’t for my dowry supporting them all these years and them seeing that I still had value, they’d have thrown him away long ago. And he still thinks he’s someone important.”
Wen Yao clicked her tongue in shock. Never mind how hard it was for Qiu Rongrong to earn those two thousand taels—just the fact that she had to fork that over every year to raise that so-called “eldest young master” made it no surprise he’d turn into an ungrateful little beast.
Qiu Rongrong’s voice was full of mockery. After a pause, she continued more calmly, “But it doesn’t matter anymore. Yi’er is back by my side, and I’ll raise him myself. As for that eldest son—if they want to raise him, let them. I’ll pay the two thousand taels, but what sort of person he grows into—that’s their business.”
What she didn’t tell Wen Yao was that this was part of the deal she struck with Xie Yushan. But such matters weren’t something she wanted to tarnish Wen Yao’s ears with, so she left it unspoken.
Wen Yao glanced at her quietly and sighed inwardly. That son of yours is no easy child either. Smart he may be, especially when it comes to making money, but his love-blinded brain… that’s another story entirely. It ended up dragging your entire maternal clan down, not even leaving a name behind.
Still, now that Xie Anyi was back under Qiu Rongrong’s guidance, hopefully the original storyline wouldn’t repeat itself.
“Let’s not talk about that. Sister Qiu, how’s business at Zui Xian Tower lately? Any trouble?” Wen Yao smoothly shifted the topic to their shared business.
Qiu Rongrong immediately threw those house matters to the back of her mind. “Ever since we started releasing two new dishes a month like you said, and held several tasting events, business has been several times better than before. On top of that, we followed your suggestion of offering a few promotional dishes each month. Though it looks like we’re cutting prices, more people can afford it, and we’re actually earning more now.
I came today to ask—what do you think about raising it to four new dishes a month? And adding more promotional ones? More and more restaurants are copying us.”
Wen Yao asked, “How’s their business doing?”
Qiu Rongrong was full of confidence. “Naturally, it’s no match for Zuixian.”
Wen Yao let out a sigh of relief. As expected, people could say she wasn’t pretty—but no one could say her cooking was bad. If even her recipes couldn’t keep customers, then her decades in the kitchen would’ve been in vain.
But as for increasing the number of new dishes—Wen Yao felt that might not be a good idea.
Qiu Rongrong was puzzled. “Why not? Wouldn’t more dishes mean more customers?”
Wen Yao shook her head. “Not necessarily. As the saying goes—rarity makes something precious. Right now, we offer two new dishes a month. That’s enough to keep the diners hooked. Just as they’re getting tired of one set of dishes, we roll out a new set, and they keep coming back to try more.
But if we offer too many, it won’t feel special anymore. Four new dishes every month? Then they’ll think, ‘What’s the rush? I’ll get to try something eventually.’ Miss out on one dish? Who cares—there are three more. Can’t get two? Still two more to choose from. In that case, there’s no sense of urgency—no crowd, no hype, and without hype, there’s no heat.”
Qiu Rongrong thought for a moment and then nodded seriously. “You’re absolutely right. Good thing I asked you first—otherwise, I might’ve made a big mistake.”
Wen Yao only smiled. Of course, that’s assuming I’m even willing to give you more recipes in the first place.
That afternoon, the celebratory banquet for the Wen family’s move was held in the open space outside the new house. As for Doctor Jin and Manager Qiu, Wen Yao had arranged a private table for them in the back courtyard. After the meal, everyone gradually dispersed.
Jin Xiuyi had gotten quite used to hanging around the Wen household and just stayed. Seeing this, Xie Anyi, who had to leave with Qiu Rongrong, was green with envy.
But when he remembered how Wen Daotou and Jin Xiuyi always looked down on him, the little guy held back his jealousy and obediently climbed into the carriage.
Wen Yao saw the whole thing. After the carriage was gone, she grabbed the other two troublemakers by the collar and dragged them in front of her.
“You two bullied Xie Anyi again, didn’t you?”
