Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Coming in Handy
Manager Wang’s people hadn’t realized what was happening when they were suddenly jostled by a swarm of customers rushing through the door, leaving them staggering and unsteady. Finally, he managed to grab onto a wooden post nearby, preventing himself from being spun around like a top.
At that moment, Manager Wang was still seeing stars. Once he collected himself, he noticed that the "Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea" shop was already full of customers, and outside, there were still people desperately trying to squeeze inside, blocked only by the lack of seats.
Manager Wang adjusted his hat and swallowed hard, wondering what on earth had happened; how did the shop fill up in the blink of an eye?
When he took a closer look, he found that each of the customers trying to rush into the shop was holding a flyer. Upon closer inspection, he saw that one side of the flyer was adorned with tempting milk tea images, perhaps depicting the top ten milk teas in the shop, while on the other side was a ’buy one get half off’ offer slogan...
On such a sweltering day, those tempting ice-blended milk tea images looked almost real; who wouldn’t be tempted?
Especially with a buy one, get one free offer.
If you don’t take advantage of a good deal, you’re a fool.
At fifty coins a cup, buy one get one free means each cup is only twenty-five coins. It’s still not cheap, but still a bargain!
Having seen his fair share of things, Manager Wang, after a moment of shock, quickly slipped in through the back door to instruct the clerks to take good care of the customers.
After that, the smile never left the manager’s face. So many people, even though the buy-one-get-one-free deal seemed like a loss, it merely meant not making as much profit. Besides, small profits but quick turnover!
The key is to make a name for ourselves today; won’t we worry about having no customers in the future?
"Hurry up with the milk tea, move faster, quick, quick, quick!"
"That side is getting impatient; serve that side first, no rush on the freebies."
"Where’s the menu? Quickly, give the customers the menu!"
Besides milk tea, the shop also offered braised duck necks, wings, liver, and the like.
Miss Qu said it herself, milk tea paired with braised snacks is a perfect match.
And the braised snacks also had images; the menu featured brightly colored braised duck necks that looked appetizing, making customers immediately order some.
After eating the braised snacks and taking a sip of Burning Immortal Grass, the taste was simply unbeatable!
A serving of braised snacks only cost a few coins, well affordable!
Everyone saw others ordering, and they followed suit; almost everyone ended up ordering both milk tea and braised snacks.
As customers continued to flock to "Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea," those who couldn’t get in stood at the door, insisting on getting a takeaway to be content!
By comparison, the neighboring "Xiao’s Milk Tea" wasn’t as bustling.
But "Xiao’s Milk Tea" wasn’t entirely without customers; at least most of those Ji Nishang had previously drawn in were still coming. Moreover, being opening day, quite a few new customers were attracted inside; there were plenty of customers.
However, compared to the opposite Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea Shop, it just wasn’t as popular.
Ji Nishang naturally found it puzzling, not understanding why so many suddenly went next door for milk tea, so she sent someone to investigate.
After an inquiry, she learned the reason.
"Opening day buy one get one free? And then every weekend or holiday, the second cup is half-price..." Ji Nishang looked at the slogans on the promotional flyer and fell silent.
How had she not thought of these promotional tactics?
Moreover, the flyers were all miniaturized images of milk tea, each one intricately drawn, clearly indicating what type of milk tea they were.
Besides that, there was also a large picture pasted on the wall outside the Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea shop, depicting the milk tea in a way that looked almost real; anyone could see what the shop’s signature product was and that it looked delicious.
No wonder they were so secretive, waiting until the very last minute on opening day to unveil everything.
Surely they were afraid of others seeing and copying the idea.
Ji Nishang subconsciously clenched her fingers; she indeed missed that angle.
But what does a successful first day signify? It’s ongoing business in the future that truly matters.
Besides, milk tea is inherently a high-end product, catering to the nobility. That other milk tea shop, with no targeted customer strategy, letting anyone in, it directly lowered the product’s class. In the future, which noble would go there to drink?
In comparison, "Xiao’s Milk Tea" inherently has a different class; noble ladies will be sure to come here.
Thinking of this, Ji Nishang felt assured.
At this moment, Qu Fulan was in another location observing the progress of things.
"As you instructed, the venue contracts are all signed, and the people have been hired, just waiting for your order."
After reviewing the contracts and confirming there were no issues, Qu Fulan said, "Then let’s start the storytelling from today, three times per week, one session a day, continuing until the Mid-Autumn Festival."
After handling the storytelling venue affairs, Qu Fulan also went to meet some people, those she needed to find as instructed, some who could perform operas.
These people were also chosen from Heir Pei’s staff, those who have been loyal to him their whole lives. There is no shortage of talented people around Heir Pei, including many opera performers.
Qu Fulan wanted those who were absolutely loyal because if they were just casually recruited from outside and trained only to change their hearts later, it would be troublesome.
"Starting today, train as I’ve instructed, continuously until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Everyone’s makeup must match the portraits I’ve provided exactly. It’s hard work, but everyone will be rewarded once it’s done."
After all her writing and sketching, Qu Fulan was finally putting her plans to use.
She had plans for many things in her mind; she just needed to take them one step at a time. Finally, her plans were gradually coming to fruition.
She had still held some strength in reserve, after all, she was still working for others and didn’t need to give her all. Once she was free, she could really show her talents.
While Qu Fulan was busy with her plans to break free, on the other side, Cheng Ru, a daughter from an official family, was working hard on her studies.
After all, in this era, most women considered marrying a good husband as their lifelong goal.
To find a good husband, the effort required was substantial.
And Cheng Ru’s efforts were yielding results; in Master Lu’s eyes, the student he admired most was now Cheng Ru.
She might not be the smartest, but she was the most diligent. If she couldn’t do something on the first try, she would do it a second, or even a third time, tirelessly.
Diligence and progress, with learned success, there’s no teacher who wouldn’t like such a student.
On the contrary, some who only show off minor cleverness greatly annoyed Master Lu.
Fortunately, they weren’t her students, so out of sight, out of mind.
Cheng Ru was clever, knowing that Master Lu didn’t like Qu Fulan, so she rarely mentioned her in front of him.
However, Fang Yuan, being more carefree, didn’t notice all that.
When Cheng Ru was seeking Master Lu’s advice on a chess puzzle, one she saw at her cousin’s place and couldn’t solve after much thought.
Upon seeing it, Master Lu also frowned.
Then Fang Yuan noticed and cheerfully said, "I’ve seen Fulan solve this puzzle before, and she did it in no time."
Sure enough, Master Lu’s expression immediately darkened.