Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Choosing One of the Four Great Classical Novels
Pei Ji’an glanced at her.
Upon returning, Qu Fulan shed her lady’s attire and changed back into her original clothes.
A glimpse of her was like a fleeting beauty, with her delicate hands and charming makeup.
She returned to her room and called for water.
Qu Fulan opened the wardrobe, took out his clothes, carefully paired each garment with the appropriate belt and accessories, and hung them on the rack, ready for him to put on.
After completing all this, she prepared to leave.
"After today’s tasting, can you answer my question?"
His voice came from behind the screen.
Qu Fulan paused, "Yes, shall I report to the Princely Heir later?"
"Speak now."
Through the screen? Perhaps he had matters to attend to and no spare time to sit and listen leisurely.
Thinking of this, Qu Fulan pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Yesterday, the Princely Heir asked if I had any solutions. Today’s outing was quite fruitful."
"Zhaoying Building is surrounded by other restaurants, making it an area with its own flow of people; it’s not remote. The current situation is that we lack advantages compared to others. For example, in terms of the taste of dishes — I tried some today and found that the food in other restaurants tastes similar to ours. So, why do guests choose others over us? There’s a lot to unpack here."
"What’s to be unpacked?" The man’s voice was somewhat lazy.
"Others offer better service than we do, and besides that, they have plenty of entertainment options. There’s storytelling, opera singing, and dancing, which makes them unlike our Zhaoying Building, which seems a bit dull. That alley on Chang’an Street is originally a place for wealthy consumption, where the taste of the food is secondary, and enjoyment is primary," Qu Fulan stated honestly.
Qu Fulan’s words were quite deliberate, subtly suggesting that their service staff didn’t measure up, and the taste of their food was mediocre.
If the taste is the same, and others offer better service in all aspects, why would I choose a flawed place like yours?
This is a very realistic, albeit harsh, fact.
Zhaoying Building is losing money precisely for these two reasons. Surely, Heir Pei knows this well.
As expected, he asked again, "Do you have any solutions?"
Qu Fulan responded, "We can improve things in two areas: first, the taste of the food; second, by adding entertainment activities."
The taste of the food is easy to understand, and adding entertainment activities is also understandable. The key is how to specifically implement these, which is crucial.
As she spoke, water could be heard from inside, suggesting he had finished bathing and was about to dress.
Qu Fulan hesitantly considered leaving, but he emerged in his base white clothing.
A tall man with long legs looks good in anything, even a sack, making him appear exceptional in his plain white attire.
Without dismissing her, she had to step forward to assist him in dressing.
This was the first time he had asked her to assist him in dressing. Ancient attire was indeed complicated, and she had never dressed anyone before. But having never tasted pork, she had at least seen pigs run. Moreover, since she became the Princely Heir’s maidservant, she had done her homework on many things, so she wasn’t fazed by this impromptu task.
"Continue," he said.
Qu Fulan’s hands paused briefly before resuming.
"Improving the taste of the food is solvable. Though my culinary skills are not top-notch, they’re more than enough compared to the rest on that street. I intend to research and create some new dishes to introduce to the Zhaoying Building; however, the key lies in the entertainment activities. After considering the building’s own characteristics, I think we could imitate ’Tingya Building’ by hiring a storyteller to attract customers."
She had reached the final step in dressing him, fastening the belt and hanging the jade pendant and fragrance sachet on him.
An outstanding and graceful noble gentleman emerged.
He could fully bear the description of a unique gentleman unmatched in these times.
Qu Fulan had always felt there was nothing about the appearance of Heir Pei worth criticizing. He was simply the perfect ancient-style handsome man.
His serene appearance carried an inherent sense of distance.
Someone brought in some hot tea, and Pei Ji’an lifted his robe as he sat down, took a sip of tea, and looked at Qu Fulan with his long phoenix eyes, "Speaking of which, I haven’t tasted your cooking yet."
Qu Fulan replied, "Whenever the Princely Heir has some free time, I can cook for him to try."
"Since you need to research recipes, use the small kitchen in the courtyard."
Qu Fulan knew about that small kitchen.
It was Hai Xia who told her about it. No other young master had it in their courtyard, only the Heir Pei’s. It was said that after the Heir married, when the Young Lady became pregnant, a small kitchen would be more convenient.
After all, a pregnant woman’s taste can change frequently. It wouldn’t be convenient or efficient to ask someone to start a fire in the main kitchen in the middle of the night; having a small kitchen in the courtyard was more practical.
There was another more important reason: it was to prevent any ill-intentioned occurrences, as too many people in a large kitchen could cause unpreventable issues.
Qu Fulan had longed to use the small kitchen, hoping to try her hand at cooking something new and interesting.
After listening to Hai Xia, she thought it impossible until the heir’s wife arrived; the small kitchen would remain unused.
She didn’t expect the Heir Pei to be so accommodating.
"Thank you, Heir Pei."
Pei Ji’an adjusted his posture, "Continue with your plan."
Qu Fulan said, "As mentioned earlier, if storytelling is done well, and the food tastes better, business will naturally improve."
Pei Ji’an, however, said, "Do you think hiring a storyteller can solve the problem?"
Qu Fulan wasn’t that naive.
"No, a storyteller is just a tool. The key lies in the content; it must be engaging to attract listeners. However, I know that to be truly engaging, we need excellent story scripts, so I recalled a script I read before and thought we might borrow some elements."
Good storytellers either create their own scripts or receive assistance from the shop to find quality scripts, ensuring a steady supply of stories to narrate to guests.
But good story-writing storytellers are rare, and finding good scripts is not easy. It requires significant effort and resources, making it more worthwhile to hire entertainers.
Therefore, it is not easy for Tingya Building to have found a good storyteller, which explains its enviably booming business.
If Qu Fulan was purely from this era, she wouldn’t have many solutions. But having traveled through time, she naturally carries many advantages.
"Which script and by whom?"
Qu Fulan, having read many novels before, saw many protagonists exploiting the cultural differences between the past and modern times to become copycats and found it intriguing, seeing it as a survival tool. She didn’t expect this experience to be of use now that she had time-traveled herself.
She merely needed to pick one of the Four Great Classical Novels; it would be unmatched.