“One pot of tea per serving.”
“One pot can fill five teacups.”
“Biluochun tea — one tael of silver.West Lake Longjing — one tael of silver.White Hair Silver Needle — one tael of silver.”
“Lemon black tea — 66 copper coins.Lemon juice — 10 copper coins.Lemon green tea — 66 copper coins.Mulberry fruit tea — 66 copper coins.Brown sugar pearl milk tea — 888 copper coins.”
Xiao Zhaoning took the menu and examined it carefully before nodding.
“There’s quite a variety. But aren’t these prices set too low? Won’t your profits decrease?”
“Take Gathering Worthies Pavilion for example—even a simple cabbage dish costs several hundred copper coins there.”
Yun Zhiyue shook her head.
“Not really. These ingredients are inexpensive, but the profit margins are quite high.”
The more costly ingredients were only sugar and milk products.
Hearing this, Xiao Zhaoning laughed.
“That’s true. How could I forget? Things like chicken feet, which no one usually wants, must be very cheap. Yet you turned them into phoenix claws and sell them for sixty-six copper coins a serving. That’s definitely not a loss.”
Then she thought of something else and pointed at the dishes on the table.
“I want to pack all of these and bring them back to the palace. Is that allowed?”
Her imperial brother had always been cold and aloof. She wondered what expression he would make after trying those spicy chicken feet.
Just imagining it made her excited.
“Hahaha.”
Yun Zhiyue nodded.
“Of course.”
“But this teahouse also needs a new name. Zhaoning, you’ve read countless books—do you have any ideas?”
If she let Xiao Zhaoning name it, wouldn’t that instantly increase her sense of involvement?
Xiao Zhaoning thought seriously for a moment before suddenly looking at the food in front of her, her eyes lighting up.
“How about Jade Delicacies Tea House?”
That truly was a good name.
Yun Zhiyue nodded approvingly.
“Excellent. We’ll use that name. Zhaoning is indeed very clever.”
“In the next two days, I’ll gather workers to completely redesign the teahouse.”
“Then we’ll host poetry appreciation, poetry writing, and poetry competitions here. On the opening day, all lemon-themed drinks will be free.”
“Anyone who writes an outstanding poem will have their work displayed publicly in the teahouse for everyone to admire. They may even receive unique prizes.”
“We’ll spread publicity through this method.”
“Where there are people, there will be spending. Once crowds gather, the food and drink sales of the teahouse will naturally increase.”
“What does Zhaoning think of this plan?”
The more Xiao Zhaoning listened, the more brilliant it sounded.
“The capital is full of scholars and young nobles who love pretending to be refined literary gentlemen. And with free tea included, they’ll definitely swarm over!”
“When that happens, the teahouse will absolutely become famous throughout the capital!”
The two finalized the opening date for five days later.
The guards’ hands were already piled full of packaged food boxes as Xiao Zhaoning prepared to leave happily.
Yun Zhiyue suddenly called out to her and brought over another food box.
“Zhaoning, this portion is meant as my offering to the Empress Dowager. Could you help me deliver it to her?”
Xiao Zhaoning waved casually, and the maid beside her immediately accepted it.
“A small matter. I’ll come again on opening day—and I’ll bring a few friends to support the business too.”
After the group left, Yun Zhiyue gathered the teahouse staff and began issuing instructions.
“Shopkeeper, take some people and buy five loads of white clay. Grind it into fine powder, mix it with water and tree resin, then coat the teahouse walls with it. This must be finished within two days.”
“Lüliu, return to the estate and take the steward with you. Recruit ten women and ten men as attendants. They must be cleanly dressed and have energetic appearances.”
She handed each of them one hundred taels of silver.
“Yes.”
Both answered in unison.
The shopkeeper suddenly remembered something.
“Eldest Miss, the accountant resigned.”
Yun Zhiyue waved her hand.
“I’ll handle that problem myself. You all go take care of your tasks first.”
Everyone quickly scattered to work, leaving the teahouse much emptier.
About a hundred meters away from the teahouse stood a tall building with open windows facing the street.
A young man dressed in sapphire-blue brocade embroidered with flying cranes and auspicious clouds leaned lazily by the window while playing with a teacup in his hand.
His amber belt and black boots only emphasized his youthful vigor.
Suddenly, his sharp eyes caught sight of something.
“Oh? Look who this young master spotted.”
No one answered him.
The young man pouted.
“Are you two made of wood? Aren’t you curious at all? How boring.”
“Crown Prince Brother, aren’t you curious who I saw?”
The man addressed as Crown Prince wore a jade crown and calmly placed a black chess piece onto the board.
Across from him sat another man dressed in a moon-white robe embroidered with silver orchid patterns as the two played chess.
In the next instant, the man opposite him spoke calmly:
“Jingyu, I concede this round.”
“Cousin Huaiyu’s skills are superior.”
Seeing the two still ignoring him, the young man by the window muttered to himself:
“Huh… I wonder why Xiao Zhaoning had her guards carrying so many food boxes.”
Once the teahouse walls were painted white, the entire place instantly looked refreshed and much brighter.
Yun Zhiyue had several tables removed and ordered a circular raised platform built between the staircases on both sides.
Green bamboo plants were placed in every corner of the teahouse.
The original paintings were rehung on the walls, while an additional doorway was carved open beside the staircase on the right to improve movement through the building.
Each private room upstairs now contained two pots of orchids.
The display shelves that once held ornaments now contained books and chessboards instead.
Downstairs, the ten female attendants wore light green dresses with the embroidered character “Yun” on their sleeves.
The ten male attendants wore sky-blue short shirts and cloth trousers.
They stood in two orderly rows while the shopkeeper continued training them.
When he saw Yun Zhiyue descend gracefully from upstairs, he immediately stepped forward.
“Eldest Miss, please take a look. Is there anything we’ve overlooked?”
Yun Zhiyue swept her gaze over the room before nodding lightly.
“You’ve done very well.”
“Miss! Miss! Someone answered the recruitment notice! He says he wants to become our accountant!”
Lüliu rushed inside excitedly, followed by two men.
She hurried to Yun Zhiyue’s side and whispered nervously:
“Miss, but he… he…”
Yun Zhiyue looked puzzled.
“What is it?”
She lifted her eyes.
A handsome man in moon-white robes embroidered with silver bamboo leaves entered first. Twin jade fish pendants hung from his waist.
Behind him followed another man dressed in black martial clothing with a sword at his waist.
Lüliu whispered beside her ear:
“Miss, the man in front is the legitimate second young master of the Cavalry General’s residence. He’s the one who says he wants to work here as an accountant.”
“Uh…”
Yun Zhiyue froze.
The Cavalry General was a first-rank official who commanded two hundred thousand troops. That was genuine military power.
The young man held a slightly yellowed sheet of paper in his hand and looked openly toward the group.
“May I ask which one of you is the owner?”
Yesterday, while passing by, he had accidentally noticed a recruitment notice posted outside.
High salary recruitment for a teahouse accountant: ten taels of silver per month.
Originally, he hadn’t cared much.
But the lines below had caught his attention.
Recruitment requirement: anyone who could solve the arithmetic problem in the simplest way would qualify for the position.
The arithmetic question was extraordinarily interesting and completely different from what ordinary teachers taught.
So he had taken the paper home to study it in private.
After much thought, he had finally discovered several simple methods, though he wasn’t sure whether they were correct.
Today, he had hurried over to ask about it.
Yet before he even entered, a maid had spotted the recruitment notice in his hand and immediately ran inside with a strange expression.
What the world did not know was this:
He disliked martial arts.
He disliked poetry and music.
The only thing he truly loved was mathematics.
Once immersed in calculations, he found endless fascination within them.
Yun Zhiyue stepped forward.
“I am the owner.”
“This young master removed my recruitment notice. Have you solved my arithmetic problem? Are you here to apply for the accountant position?”
The guard beside him quietly whispered:
“Second Young Master, this is the fake daughter of the Pingyang Marquis Household.”
Yun Zhiyue: “……”
So she really could never escape the title of “fake daughter,” huh?
The young man looked toward her, lightly pinching the paper between his fingers. A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.
“I never expected the creator of such a problem to be someone so young.”
Yun Zhiyue calmly sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip.
“And what exactly is wrong with that?”
She subtly signaled the shopkeeper with her eyes, and the attendants quietly withdrew from the room.
“This is merely the most basic kind of business profit-and-loss problem.”
“When I hire an accountant, I don’t just want someone who can record and calculate accounts. I need someone who can analyze the daily profits and losses of the teahouse itself.”
“If I don’t give a test question, how else would I know what they’re truly capable of?”
Hearing this, the young man’s eyes brightened.
“It seems I was narrow-minded.”
“Miss, my surname is Qi, given name Yanqing.”
“I would like to ask Miss for guidance regarding this arithmetic problem.”