“Miss, my name is Wan Niang. From now on, I will wholeheartedly fulfill my duties as house steward and never harbor any disloyalty,” the woman declared solemnly.
Yun Zhiyue nodded and handed her fifty taels of silver.
“You’ll be responsible for managing the workers, purchasing daily ingredients, and recording every expense. At the end of each month, you must bring the account books to the Yun residence for me to inspect. If the accounts don’t match, your position as steward can be replaced.”
“Please rest assured, Miss. I will definitely perform my duties properly and never deceive you,” Wan Niang promised, patting her chest.
With the housing issue resolved, Yun Zhiyue began purchasing wheat to cultivate malt.
The six workers occupied three rooms, while the remaining rooms were converted into dedicated brewing rooms.
The rooms were filled with bamboo trays spread across the floor, each covered with soaked wheat grains under damp gauze cloth. Every day, workers were assigned to monitor and record the growth.
As for hops, Yun Zhiyue instructed Wan Niang to gather them. She would make the yeast herself, since that was the crucial step.
Three days later, the malt had sprouted, looking like it had grown tiny green hairs.
Yun Zhiyue had people crush the malt with rolling pins, then boil the crushed malt in large pots. During the process, they stirred it appropriately so the starch in the malt would fully convert into sugar, forming wort.
After saccharification, the liquid was filtered through gauze to separate the residue. Then the liquid was boiled again with hops added, and after boiling, it was cooled for fifteen minutes.
For the final step, Yun Zhiyue stayed alone in the room to add the yeast.
Then she had the containers sealed and stored in a cool, shaded place.
A week later, Yun Zhiyue had someone open the lid, and immediately a rich, mellow aroma mixed with the scent of malt drifted out.
Success.
At the Yun residence—
“Father, come see what wonderful thing your daughter prepared for you.” Yun Zhiyue walked gracefully into the main hall, followed by a servant carrying a tray.
Before even tasting the barbecue and beer placed on the table, Master Yun could already smell the rich aroma of smoky grilled meat and refreshing malt fragrance.
“My good daughter really is father’s little padded jacket. You always think of your father whenever there’s something good,” the man laughed cheerfully as he picked up a skewer of barbecue to taste, then took a sip of the chilled beer.
Savory, spicy, icy, and mellow.
“Delicious! Truly delicious! Both the food and drink are excellent.”
Wheat cost fifty copper coins per dou, and brewing beer was both time-consuming and labor-intensive. The raw materials themselves were not cheap either.
Now that the beer was successfully made, preparations for opening the restaurant could officially begin.
〔Good morning, Host! (๑＞＜๑）〕
〔Mission Three: Provide ingredient supply — Unlimited tomatoes〕
〔Requirement: Reach 5,000 points within one month〕
〔Once the mission ends, the tomato supply will stop〕
“Got it.”
“How many points do I currently have?”
〔Current total points: 15,218〕
Sigh… still so far from 100,000 points.
〔Keep it up, Host!〕
“I know.”
Since they were about to sell spicy hotpot, she decided on two soup bases: bone broth and tomato broth.
At Ruifu Restaurant—
The restaurant’s layout had already been completed. Xiao Zhaoning had workers hang pictures of spicy hotpot dishes on all four walls of the first floor.
Pictures of barbecue dishes decorated the second floor walls.
“Miss Yun, I’ve already finished training the restaurant staff. Please take a look and see if there’s anything lacking,” Liu Tinglan said before lightly clapping her hands.
Fifteen men wearing dark brown short jackets walked out in neat formation.
Behind them followed six rough older women, four middle-aged women, and four men.
“Greetings, bosses!” everyone called out loudly and energetically.
Yun Zhiyue nodded approvingly. “Very good.”
“Sister Liu trained them well,” Xiao Zhaoning said happily.
The restaurant staff arrangement was initially finalized as follows:
Fifteen servers.
Six older women responsible for washing dishes and wiping tables.
Four cooks for spicy hotpot.
Four barbecue chefs.
One accountant.
One manager.
One purchasing agent.
The manager had been chosen by Xiao Zhaoning.
The servers, cleaning women, hotpot cooks, and barbecue chefs had been selected by Liu Tinglan.
The accountant and purchasing agent would be decided by Yun Zhiyue.
“This is the new menu I drafted. Take a look.” Yun Zhiyue handed the papers to the two women beside her.
Spicy Hotpot Menu
Bone broth base — 188 copper coins
Tomato broth base — 166 copper coins
Dry mixed sauce base without soup — 100 copper coins
Meats:
Each serving contained five slices or pieces.
Vegetables:
Each serving contained five pieces.
Meatballs:
Each serving contained three meatballs.
Eggs:
Staples:
Barbecue Menu
Alcohol:
Meats:
The barbecue seasonings were troublesome to make, the meat was expensive, and therefore the prices were high.
Vegetables:
Meatballs:
Each skewer contained three meatballs.
The two women were dazzled by the extensive menu and exchanged glances.
Xiao Zhaoning pushed the menu back toward her. “Zhiyue, this is perfect as it is. We think it’s great.”
Liu Tinglan nodded in agreement.
“I’m thinking of changing the restaurant’s name. Do either of you have any good ideas?” Yun Zhiyue asked while stroking her chin thoughtfully.
“You decide,” the two women answered in unison.
Yun Zhiyue smiled. “Then how about ‘Heaven on Earth’?”
Delicacies fit for heaven itself.
“Excellent.”
The three agreed to open the restaurant three days later.
“This is a new kind of alcohol I developed. One jug for each of you—take it home and let your families try it.” Yun Zhiyue brought out bottles of beer and handed them over.
Xiao Zhaoning lifted the lid and sniffed it carefully. “It smells quite nice. Father Emperor would probably like it.”
Rich malt aroma, fragrant hops.
Liu Tinglan thought her own father would probably enjoy it too.
Now that the teahouse business had stabilized, Yun Zhiyue planned to transfer Qi Yanqing to the restaurant.
As for the teahouse, she instructed Chen Changsheng to recruit someone new.
“Transfer to the restaurant?” Qi Yanqing was momentarily stunned.
He hadn’t expected this boss to move so quickly and open another establishment so soon.
Yun Zhiyue nodded. “Mm-hmm. I also need to recruit someone responsible for purchasing ingredients. You can recommend someone, since they’ll be coordinating with you.”
The way she said it so naturally made it seem as though she had truly forgotten he was actually a young master from a wealthy family.
Qi Yanqing thought about it, but found himself at a loss. All his friends were either noble sons or members of the imperial family—none of them would work like he did.
The young man shook his head. “Thank you for your trust, Boss, but Yanqing truly has no suitable candidates to recommend.”
“Alright then. This jug of beer is for you. It’s one of the beverages the restaurant will soon sell, so you can taste it first.”
Basically, it was free advertising.
Qi Yanqing accepted it. “Thank you, Boss.”
Suddenly, Yun Zhiyue thought of someone.
“Wan Niang greets Miss.”
The woman bowed respectfully. This job had taught her many things, and she had grown even more respectful toward Yun Zhiyue.
“You’ve done quite well as steward. My restaurant is about to open, but I’m still lacking a purchasing agent with a monthly wage of five taels. You may recommend someone.”
This was truly wonderful news.
Wan Niang’s eyes lit up with delight.
“Thank you, Miss! I have an elder brother with proper manners. He can write, keep accounts, and do calculations. Miss, would he be suitable?”
Yun Zhiyue nodded.
“He will do.”