“Eh eh eh, Boss Qin, wait, wait!”
“1,200 taels it is! I’ll sell, I’ll sell!”
Seeing that Qin Yan was about to leave, Boss Liu immediately rushed forward to stop him and agreed to sell the restaurant.
“Boss Liu, here’s a banknote for 1,200 taels. Please count it carefully.”
In the teahouse, after signing the purchase agreement, Qin Yan handed over the silver note.
“No problem, Boss Qin. These are the restaurant’s keys and account books, they’re all yours now.”
“But Boss Qin, I’m really curious. Since you know the current state of this restaurant, why are you still willing to take it over? Don’t tell me… you actually think you can beat Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion?”
Now that the deal was sealed, Boss Liu couldn’t hold back his curiosity. The reason he had sold the restaurant was because the newly opened Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion next door had hired a top-tier chef whose dishes were outstanding, stealing away all his customers.
With business gone and collapse imminent, he had no choice but to exit. But even knowing this, Qin Yan still dared to enter the market—how could that not make him curious? He truly wanted to know what strategy Qin Yan had to take down Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.
“A mountain hermit always has his tricks. Besides, I never said I had to beat Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. In the food industry, it’s not always a matter of life and death. Sometimes, differentiated competition can allow both parties to thrive.”
Qin Yan smiled and spoke calmly, looking every bit the master strategist.
“Hehe, well then, I’ll wait and see.”
Since Qin Yan was deliberately being vague, Boss Liu didn’t press further. After all, he wasn’t truly planning to return to his hometown. In time, he’d see for himself what trick Qin Yan had up his sleeve.
“Prince Consort, why would you stop running your perfectly good bookhouse and open a restaurant instead? The bookhouse makes so much more money! Those books you wrote—Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms—they’ve all been hailed as masterpieces! If you just kept writing and selling books, wouldn’t that earn far more than opening a restaurant?”
Right after Boss Liu left, a middle-aged man following Qin Yan asked curiously.
“Old Zhou, how many times have I told you—I’m not the Prince Consort anymore. From now on, just call me Young Master. If outsiders hear that, it might cause trouble. Remember, we’re no longer part of the Princess’s Residence, don’t bring us unnecessary problems because of it.”
Qin Yan immediately warned him.
“Ah…”
Zhou De quickly corrected himself, a trace of embarrassment on his face.
“It’s fine. I’m not blaming you. Just remember it going forward.”
Qin Yan patted Zhou De on the shoulder, not blaming him at all. After all, the man had always addressed him as Prince Consort in the Princess’s Residence, and it was only natural he hadn’t broken the habit yet.
Zhou De had originally been a steward in Princess Changning’s residence. Two and a half years ago, he had offended Xiao Wanyu and was expelled. Coincidentally, Qin Yan had been making preparations for his own exit and was in need of capable people. After half a year of observation, he realized Zhou De was indeed very competent and secretly recruited him. From then on, Zhou De had worked for Qin Yan.
In fact, ever since marrying Xiao Wanyu after transmigrating, Qin Yan had known that one day he’d leave the Princess’s Residence. That was why he began making preparations for his departure early on.
While in the Princess’s Residence, everything he ate, drank, wore, and used came from there. Once he left, he’d have to rely on himself. So he couldn’t wait until he was actually kicked out to start planning—he had already put together a complete exit strategy.
The first requirement for a good life after leaving was money. So Qin Yan’s first plan was to make money.
His initial idea was to write and sell books. So during his three years in the Princess’s Residence, he spent his free time writing the Four Great Classical Novels from before his transmigration: Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Fortunately, the Great Phoenix Empire had a literary culture that embraced fiction, and novels were hugely popular. Once those books hit the market, they became instant hits and sold like wildfire.
In just over two years, Qin Yan had earned a fortune from book sales. By now, his net worth was over 100,000 taels, which is why he had no interest in taking even a single item from the Princess’s Residence when he left.
After leaving the Princess’s Residence, Qin Yan was still a rich man with no shortage of food, drink, or comfort.
In fact, now that he was out of the Princess’s Residence, Qin Yan finally felt like a fish leaping into a wide sea—finally able to showcase his talents. That place had been nothing more than a cage holding him back.
“Young Master, you still haven’t said why you bought this restaurant. Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion is right next door—are we just courting death by opening a restaurant here?”
Zhou De was still full of doubt. He looked at Qin Yan and asked again, clearly not understanding his reasoning.
“The food industry is a high-profit business. It’s far more lucrative than selling books. Right now, our books are being pirated everywhere. Every time we release a new title, it gets copied within a month. Our profits are shrinking fast. If this goes on, we’ll just be working for others.”
Qin Yan explained.
In ancient times, there was no concept of copyright, so writing and selling books was profitable—but piracy was rampant. Now that their bookhouse was a known brand, they were being watched. At the slightest hint of new releases, pirates jumped to copy them. It simply wasn’t sustainable.
That’s why Qin Yan had his eyes on the restaurant business. After all, it had always been a highly profitable industry.
“But where are we going to find famous chefs to compete with Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion?”
“You’re a great cook, Young Master, but you alone aren’t enough.”
Zhou De understood Qin Yan’s logic but still didn’t agree. Running a restaurant needed star chefs, and where could they find so many?
“Old Zhou, you just don’t get it. There’s a type of restaurant that doesn’t need master chefs. All it needs are a few people who know how to prep ingredients, and it can still operate—and be replicated on a large scale.”
Qin Yan suddenly smiled mysteriously.
“What? You can open a restaurant without chefs? Young Master, are you pulling my leg?”
Zhou De was dumbfounded and stared at Qin Yan in disbelief. It all sounded ridiculous to him.
“If you don’t believe me, so be it. Have you prepared everything I asked for?”
“Already done. It’s all stored in the warehouse and ready to go.”
“Good. You’ll soon find out exactly how I plan to make this work.”