Yummy Yummy Yummy

The "pop-up shop" at the East Market proved highly effective. In the following days, people kept coming specifically to Shen Ji Tavern in Chongxian and Qinren neighborhoods for the hot pot.

Some were return customers who'd tried it at the East Market days earlier: "How is your mutton so exceptionally fresh? Our home cooks can never achieve this flavor."

"Our soup base is special... Might as well save yourself the trouble and just come to our shop. Choose any hot pot base you like, pick whatever ingredients you want. We also have Xinfeng wine, osmanthus wine, agate meat, jade dumplings and other delicacies. Plus—you can watch Zhang Erlang enjoy those springy dumplings." The tavern manager was quite the smooth talker.

The guests chuckled at that last remark.

"Shall I bring you another plate of fresh shrimp?" The manager glanced at the table and asked solicitously with a smile.

Others came based on reputation: "I heard there was a 'Hot Pot Festival' at the East Market on Winter Solstice Day, with excellent small cauldrons for dipping meat—was that your place?"

"Indeed it was, young master. Please come in. Would you like to try our milky soup hot pot? The same one we served at the East Market that day." Limited by outdoor conditions, they'd only prepared a few main soup bases for the stall, with the milky version being most popular.

"That's the one! I heard even the soup alone is incredibly delicious."

"Well said, young master! With this soup, even if you just toss in some plain broad noodles, it'll taste amazing—let alone our fresh mutton or tender fish balls. Just smell the aroma in our shop!"

Then there were the unfortunate ones who'd seen it at the East Market but couldn't stay to eat, or even get a seat.

"Finally getting to try it today!" they'd exclaim, looking thoroughly satisfied.

For such customers, the manager would specially gift a plate of "flower cakes so delicious they'd make even the top imperial examinees dismount," to make up for their earlier disappointment.

After inspecting the shops, Shen Shaoguang and Shao Jie were quite pleased with the situation.

"Pity there's only one Winter Solstice each year..." Shao Jie said greedily.

Shen Shaoguang reassured him, "No matter. When spring comes and fresh vegetables hit the market, we'll sell spring pancakes. At summer's start, we'll offer various cold noodles. By autumn, we can organize a grilled meat festival or crab festival. As long as you can secure stall spaces in the East and West Markets, we can easily come up with four or five events yearly."

Yet Shao Jie placed special significance on this "first time": "Though we'll set up stalls in the markets again—perhaps even more grandly—this was still our debut, which carries unique meaning. Since you're skilled at drawing, you should depict that day's Hot Pot Festival at the East Market."

Seeing through him, Shen Shaoguang asked, "Would you prefer multiple paintings to hang in all our shops?"

"That would be perfect!" Shao Jie clapped his hands. "Better yet, make it a long scroll. Give it a grand title too—something highlighting 'prosperity and peace.'"

Shen Shaoguang looked at her major investor with an amused smile.

After a pause, Shao Jie chuckled sheepishly, "Too much work, eh? Actually two paintings... or even one would do. Too many would cheapen them. But we must have this painting mounted by the East Market's finest mounting shop, then rotate it among our establishments."

Shen Shaoguang fully understood now—if Young Master Shao lived in modern times, he'd absolutely wrap commercial activities in public welfare packaging. He'd have people take photos, shoot videos, write advertorials, post on official accounts and Weibo, publish in print media and television... Oh yes, and buy a trending topic too. What a shrewd businessman!Shen Shaoguang put on an air of grandeur and said, "Alright then, I'll give it some thought." She laughed at her own words before finishing.

Shao Jie chuckled as well.

Then the two proceeded with their "daily shareholder meeting routine"—exchanging business flattery and envisioning the future.

"With the third and fourth branches opening soon, I estimate we can expand to six or seven stores by next summer?" Shao Jie said.

Shen Shaoguang thought he was overly optimistic but didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm.

"Chang'an has one hundred and eight wards. Excluding the impoverished southern outskirts, the wards where nobles occupy half the space, and those with too many large gardens or temples, we should still have about half left. That’s over fifty wards. If we open one store every four or five wards... Young Lady Shen, couldn’t we nearly cover all of Chang'an by the end of next year?"

Shen Shaoguang: "...And then we’ll expand our taverns to the Eastern Capital, Northern Capital, Bianzhou, Puzhou, and even Jiangnan?" They spoke the last few words in unison and burst into laughter.

Even though they knew it was unrealistic, indulging in such fantasies was still fun.

Yu San came to the backyard to fetch meat and saw the two fools laughing by the wall, leaving him at a loss for words.

But Shen Shaoguang and Shao Jie were thoroughly enjoying the sun, hands tucked in their sleeves as they continued their "executive meeting."

"Later, we should assign dedicated teams for store inspections, accounting, training new hires, and procurement. Otherwise, even with three heads and six arms, we wouldn’t be able to handle it all."

Shen Shaoguang nodded. "Exactly. It’s like the imperial court—with the Secretariat, the Chancellery, and the Department of State Affairs, plus the Six Ministries, Nine Courts, and Five Directorates. Each division has its own responsibilities, and only through collaboration can the whole system function."

The Shao family was a major merchant house with time-tested management methods, albeit family-oriented, which could still serve as a reference. Shen Shaoguang, coming from a later era and being somewhat familiar with the food and beverage industry, was no stranger to restaurant operations. Having already successfully opened two branches, the two of them sketched out the framework for the future "Shen’s Restaurant Chain."

Back in the hall, Shen Shaoguang drew out the organizational chart.

Looking at the neatly structured diagram and then at their current small team, Shen Shaoguang swallowed hard. "Young Master Shao, by the time we fill out this framework, your son will probably be old enough to run errands for soy sauce and oil, don’t you think?"

Thinking of his yet-to-be-found bride and then at the chart, Shao Jie hesitated. "Not necessarily..."

Shen Shaoguang burst into laughter again. The road must be taken step by step, and meals eaten bite by bite. The grand organizational chart could wait—for now, they’d focus on staffing operations, finance, and procurement.

Shao Jie, however, studied Shen Shaoguang’s modest hall and then the courtyard with its newly added side rooms. With more staff and supplies like rice and vegetables, space was becoming tight. "No offense, but you really ought to buy a proper house. As the owner of a dozen taverns, living in such a humble place doesn’t suit your status..." And when the time came to marry Lord Lin, leaving from such a residence wouldn’t be appropriate either.

Shen Shaoguang: "...Since when do I own a dozen taverns?"

"If things go well next year, won’t it be a dozen?" Shao Jie said matter-of-factly.

Shen Shaoguang: "..."

"Are you saying these dozen taverns won’t all belong to you, Young Lady Shen? But I already have a grand residence to live in..."

Shen Shaoguang was momentarily led astray by his twisted logic and actually found herself thinking... that it kind of made sense.Shen Shaoguang leaned in with a mischievous grin and said, "Hey, Young Master Shao, actually, I've got my eye on a house—"

Shao Jie perked up with interest. "Do tell! I’ve been scouting shops all day and know the property agents well. I can help you check it out. Buying a house isn’t like other things—you don’t want to end up with a haunted one."

Shen Shaoguang: "...It is a haunted house."

Shao Jie: "!!!"

Shen Shaoguang continued excitedly, "It’s that three-courtyard residence at the end of our ward. The first owner was a merchant from the south. The house isn’t that old, only about a decade, and looks quite tidy from the outside, with a bit of that delicate Jiangnan charm. I heard it even has a pond, flower gardens, and all the proper halls and pavilions—quite well done. That merchant—"

She coughed, deciding not to mention his death by overindulgence, "Well, he was a bit of a libertine and passed away in Pingkang Ward. The next owner took over but met bandits while trading in Youzhou. Neither died in the house, so technically, it’s not really haunted."

" Not haunted?!"

Shen Shaoguang lowered her voice. "Is it really that bad? Think about how many people have died in the Daming Palace, Taiji Palace, and Xingqing Palace—are those haunted?"

Shao Jie: "..."

Shen Shaoguang invoked Bai Juyi’s reasoning: "The Zhou and Qin dynasties both ruled from the same lands—one lasted eight hundred years, the other collapsed in two generations. Then look at us and the previous Sui... So, as they say, ‘It’s the people who are ill-fated, not the house!’ "

Shao Jie pondered this and found it somewhat convincing. Was there any place more ill-omened than the imperial palace? Yet the emperor still lived there. He wasn’t one to cling to superstitions anyway—otherwise, he wouldn’t have hit it off so well with Shen Shaoguang. So he set aside his reservations about the house’s "haunted" status and asked, "Then why not buy it? Why settle for this place?"

Shen Shaoguang suddenly turned philosophical. "Actually, this little thatched hut with its small courtyard, peach and plum trees out front, the scent of onions and leeks by the wall, and the mother hen clucking with her chicks... It’s quite nice too."

Shao Jie scoffed. "Pfft—"

Truthfully, if not for the rapid expansion of her branch shops, Shen Shaoguang would have saved up enough by now. But personal spending had to take a backseat to business investments.

She figured that once the branches stabilized next year and she no longer needed to "buy chickens" but could simply wait for them to "lay eggs," she’d soon have enough for this particular "scrambled egg" dish.

To speed up her dream of owning a grand house, Shen Shaoguang intensified training for new staff, preparing for the new shop’s opening as soon as renovations and equipment were ready. She also reassigned Xu Silang, Zhang Erlang, and A Dou to form a dedicated performance troupe, rotating between branches.

Just two acts wouldn’t cut it, though. Shen Shaoguang brainstormed ways to keep Zhang Erlang’s character—a gluttonous miser—consistent while expanding his antics into a "series." Unfortunately, finding a dedicated scriptwriter was tough, so she took on the task herself, mining daily shop anecdotes and dredging up forgotten corners of her memory—like the raunchy jokes from Forest of Laughs .

Shen Shaoguang had plenty of risqué material in her head, but she kept it to herself, never sharing it openly—unless it was in private quarters. For instance, teasing Lord Lin?

The thought of flustering Lord Lin until he turned red, caught between anger and laughter, made her itch with amusement.It's a pity that with the arrival of winter, the New Year isn't far off. Foreign envoys coming to Chang'an for the New Year's court ceremonies have begun arriving one after another, and the tribute candidates from various prefectures have also reached the capital. With numerous winter festivals approaching—especially the grand Winter Solstice sacrifice just around the corner—the autumn and commercial taxes must also be collected within the next month or two... The capital administration, unlike ordinary prefectures, not only handles household registrations, tax levies, legal disputes, agricultural promotion, and scholarly examinations but also assists various imperial ministries with capital-specific affairs. During such a busy season, Lord Lin is truly swamped with work. Shen Shaoguang herself is also occupied, leaving little time for the two to sit down and chat peacefully. Thus, her teasing intentions remain confined to her imagination.

In the open space of the front hall, Zhang Erlang was happily munching on "fried quail," chewing noisily as he asked, "Brother Dou, why aren't you eating?"

A Dou sighed mournfully, "There were four quails. You've eaten three—might as well finish the last one too, so they won't be separated. Poor things."

Shen Shaoguang grinned, thinking A Dou's expression bore a striking resemblance to Princess Yu San.

Author's Note:

① Bai Juyi's "Haunted House": The Zhou and Qin dynasties once dwelled in the same lands, yet their fates diverged—one flourished for eight hundred years, the other met ruin at Wangyi Palace. A message for homes and nations alike: misfortune lies not in the dwelling, but in its people.

② Adapted from a passage in "Forest of Laughs" about eating sparrows: Two men dined together, sharing a bowl with four sparrows. One greedily ate three and asked his companion, "Why aren't you eating?" The other replied, "Better to let them all rest in your belly, lest they be parted from their mates."