Chapter 735 - 737: East City
Chapter 735: Chapter 737: East City
Jin Qianqian rubbed her still somewhat sore and stiff neck. "Attending a banquet like this once is enough. If I do it again, it’ll provoke public outrage."
She had a purpose for flaunting her wealth so high-profilely today.
The restaurants and shops over in East City were making their final preparations. Naturally, she needed to show off her strength to prevent those who didn’t know better from harboring crooked ideas later on.
"Then..." Ming Yuan was just about to continue asking when Ming He pulled her back.
"Then why was I so high-profile this time, right?" Jin Qianqian glanced at Ming Yuan and said, "Ever since we arrived in Yi Province, we’ve always kept a relatively low profile.
"Now that our businesses on East Street are about to open, it’s time to reveal some of our resources, at least to give them some time to accept it."
Jin Qianqian understood the deep-rooted flaws in human nature. Only by widening this gap to the maximum could she instill fear and caution in others.
No matter how many questions Ming Yuan had in her heart at this moment, she didn’t dare to ask anymore. Because she noticed that the other girls were all staring at her, she could only stick out her tongue secretly and serve carefully from the sidelines.
Ever since Jin Qianqian attended the engagement at the Xun residence, the subsequent banquets seemed to have been put on hold. Jin Qianqian hadn’t received any invitations for several days in a row.
She didn’t mind, because she was currently busy.
Gu Letian was leaving with the escort team tomorrow. In addition to the things he had carefully selected and bought himself, Jin Qianqian prepared two more horse-drawn carriages for him.
"This is way too much," Gu Letian said, not understanding why they had packed so many things.
Jin Qianqian said, "These are all to be taken back to the elders. I’ve made a list here, and everything is clearly marked inside. When the time comes, hand it over to your grandmother; she’ll know how to handle it.
"It’s a long journey back this time. Follow the leader of the escort and the others closely. Don’t go wandering off."
Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but instruct him again. They had finally found him with great difficulty; he couldn’t get lost again.
Although Jin Qianqian didn’t state it explicitly, Gu Letian understood. A hint of shame flashed across his face. Back then, if he hadn’t run around blindly, he wouldn’t have been stranded outside for so many years, living such a bitter life.
However, at the thought of immediately going back to see his parents and relatives, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
After a sleepless night, the next day arrived. Under Xu Dawang’s escort, his carriage followed behind the leader of the escort. He had finally embarked on the journey home he had longed for day and night.
Jin Qianqian stood on the third-floor terrace of the brand-new Tianfu Restaurant.
This Tianfu Restaurant had been designed single-handedly by her. The building she was standing on faced the street and had two and a half stories.
The first floor housed the main hall and the kitchen, which could accommodate over a hundred people dining at the same time.
The second floor consisted mainly of private rooms. There were more than twenty private rooms, large and small. Whether they faced the street or the backyard, all of them were fitted with the glass they had brought along with them on this trip.
As for the third floor where she was currently located, there were only a few rooms. One was set aside for office use, while the other rooms were not intended to entertain guests but were reserved exclusively for the Gu family.
With a single glance, she could see the backyard scattered with several courtyards. The garden scenery was currently being arranged there, which would later be used for guests to rent out entire courtyards and stay in.
Next door to the restaurant was a complete three-story inn, offering rooms of various sizes for traveling merchants.
"Madam, Shopkeeper Minghai has arrived," Ming Shi reported as he came upstairs.
"Let him come up!"
After Minghai paid his respects, he stood with his hands respectfully by his sides.
"How much longer until the work here is finished?"
"Reporting to Madam, we’re doing the final touch-ups. I’ve already urged the craftsmen to finish some of the furniture here as quickly as possible, but it will still take a few more days to complete everything."
Minghai had been urging them as much as he could. It was also because they had planned ahead; otherwise, they might not have been able to find so many craftsmen in Yongchang County, nor would the speed have been this fast.
Jin Qianqian also knew that everything had been built bit by bit by hand. "There’s no rush. If worse comes to worst, we can just reschedule the opening. We must ensure the quality is strictly controlled and the work is done meticulously."
Minghai quickly agreed. "There’s one more matter to report to you, Madam."
Jin Qianqian asked, "What else is there?"
"Those head chefs have been itching for action these past few days, wandering around the kitchen all day. They want to take advantage of the time before opening to get their hands busy and practice a bit.
"Since they haven’t stood at the stove for a long time, they’re afraid their skills might have gotten rusty. They want to order some ingredients first to find their rhythm."
This wasn’t a major issue, but since the purchasing arrangements hadn’t been set up yet, Minghai could only come over to ask for instructions.
"Prepare the purchasing staff on your end. Let them feel out the local market first. They can also buy some suitable ingredients for the chefs to practice with.
"It just so happens that you’ve all been working hard these days, so you can come here to improve your meals and taste the dishes along the way, finalizing the menu as soon as possible."
Jin Qianqian knew that the upcoming tasks were mostly trivial matters, and Minghai probably wouldn’t be able to handle them all on his own.
"If you feel you need more hands, just transfer them from the manor. If you find anyone suitable, you can also keep them here."
Minghai let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you, Master."
He really had been dizzy with work these past few days. He was in charge of everything here. Even though he had some subordinates, he was still swamped. Now that he could add more hands, he was naturally happy.
Jin Qianqian then went to check out the pastry shop and the soap workshop. Everything here was running normally and ready to open at any time; they were just waiting for Tianfu Restaurant to be completed.
Walking further down, there was a grocery store spanning four connected storefronts. Some of the goods inside were already slowly being categorized and displayed. The items were varied and diverse, functioning just like a small self-service supermarket.
Jin Qianqian actually wanted to create a large-scale supermarket, but that simply wasn’t realistic.
Past the grocery store was the future headquarters of the escort agency. Armed escorts were already being recruited. When they had enough personnel, they could slowly start taking on some small local jobs.
The number of armed escorts they had brought over previously was far from enough. Besides recruiting some locally, they could only slowly scout for more suitable candidates.
Moving further ahead were a few empty shops. These were extra vacant units that Jin Qianqian hadn’t figured out a use for yet, so she could only leave them empty and plan slowly.
"Madam, I’m really looking forward to opening soon." Ming Yuan was the liveliest among the four maids. After following Jin Qianqian around for a tour, she felt her eyes couldn’t take everything in.
It was already on such a grand scale now; if everything truly started operating, how bustling would it be?
Jin Qianqian looked at the areas across the street that were still under construction and sighed silently. There were still things that weren’t entirely satisfactory.
"We still have to wait," Jin Qianqian said, looking at the foundations across the street that were only just nearing completion, feeling less anxious instead.
They couldn’t very well have the restaurant open here while it was still dusty across the street.
Before leaving, she had someone call for Minghai, instructing him to arrange for a few people to fetch water and sprinkle it at the entrance every day to minimize the dust as much as possible.