Chapter 29: The Noodle Restaurant Opens for Business

  Qiu Qingming, the president of the Jin Yang North Commercial Chamber of Commerce in Chu State, sat in his study, looking at the account book in his hand with a helpless expression. The war between Qi State and Jin State against Chu State had seriously affected the normal operation of the entire chamber of commerce. The northern trade route had been completely cut off, and going to the north for business would inevitably make one a target for the roaming armies.

  Qiu Qingming recalled the recent news that most of the northern cities had been occupied by Qi, and Jin was like a wolf, plundering a lot of wealth and population. Although Chu's general Wang Hu led 70,000 troops to block the two countries' southward advance at Yangping Pass, the northern granary had already been lost, and it is expected that in the near future, Chu will face a severe food crisis. Perhaps not long from now, grain prices will skyrocket.

  Thinking of those grain merchants who forget righteousness for profit, Qiu Qingming shook his head and was even more pessimistic about the situation in Chu State.

  The entire north is finished, and the Northern Chamber of Commerce is also finished. Qiu Qingmiao had a headache again, so he simply didn't think about it anymore. He stood up and instructed the butler to prepare, as he wanted to go out for a stroll and clear his mind.

  Qiu Qingming brought two servants with him and walked through several commercial districts in Jinyang, seeing only worry and confusion on people's faces.

  Jinyang City is the largest city in Chu State, with a population of over one million, plus refugees who are already uncountable. The chaotic era is about to arrive, Qiu Qingming saw that many rice shops have started to raise prices, restaurants, wine houses, even street vendors selling baked buns are raising prices.

  Hurry up and bury some of the family's wealth at home as capital for the future, and the people in the family should disperse a little, keeping one share of power is one share. Qiu Qingmiao thought secretly.

  "Delicious food at Mei Wei Xuan! Tasty and affordable! A pity if you don't eat here!"

  Suddenly, a loud shout came from beside Qiu Qingmang's ear. He looked up and saw in the crowd a big man holding a wooden signboard, shouting loudly from time to time. Beside the big man was a young boy distributing flyers.

  "Come on, let's go take a look." Qiu Qingming said to the servant beside him.

  Jia Ding quickly brought back a bill, and Qiu Qinghui took a look at it. It was a bill from a noodle restaurant. Qiu Qinghui looked at the menu listed on it and felt a bit refreshed. Although there were not many noodle dishes, the prices were not high.

  A bowl of braised pork noodle soup costs only one gold coin. To know that the cheapest bowl of meat noodles now costs two gold coins. What's even more interesting to Qiu Qingming is that all industries related to food in the city are expected to raise prices, but this noodle shop has actually lowered its price.

  Why don't you go try the taste, Qiu Qingming felt that his aimless wandering could not alleviate the pressure in his heart, so he went to eat a bowl of noodles.

  The address was written on the note, Qiu Qingming knew every street in Jinyang City, and finding this noodle shop wouldn't be difficult for him.

  When he brought two housekeepers to the front of Mei Wei Xuan noodle shop, Du Le was in the kitchen directing the cooking masters to prevent any mistakes. Today is the first day of opening, no room for error.

  Du Le invested a lot for this day, and in order to have a smooth opening, Du Le also prepared for two more days. Instant noodles were increased to 5,000 boxes, as well as bowls, chopsticks, pots for cooking noodles, and 1 million copies of flyers that he brought from Fuhai City.

  As soon as the door opened for business, the first customer sat down within a minute. Ten minutes after opening, flyers were distributed, and 80% of the seats were filled with customers, presenting a bustling scene. After all, in this chaotic era, food prices that don't rise but instead fall will inevitably arouse curiosity and longing.

  Du Le believes that with further publicity, there will be more and more guests, and the number plate will also play its role.

  "Welcome!" said the shop assistant to Qiu Qingmeng as he entered, "There are three seats available, please go inside and sit down."

  Qiu Qingming glanced at the three empty seats next to the long table, furrowed his brow. A servant nearby saw this and was about to call the shop assistant to change tables, but Qiu Qingming shook his head and stopped him, saying "Forget it, let's just sit there. Shopkeeper, bring us three bowls of mushroom stewed chicken noodles." The mushroom stewed chicken noodles were two yuan per bowl.

  "Alright! Please wait a moment, this is your number plate." The shop assistant handed a wooden plaque marked with the number 35 to Qiu Qinghui and continued to say apologetically: "Sorry, sir, our Mei Wei Xuan noodle restaurant's rule is to settle the bill first before cooking the noodles."

  Qiu Qingming asked with a puzzled face: "It's not like we're eating noodles without paying, why is there such a rule?"

  "This is the rule set by our boss, it's convenient for settlement." The shop assistant explained with a smile.

  "What if the noodles don't taste good?" Qiu Qingmeng said discontentedly.

  "Look what you said, our Miao Wei Xuan's noodles are absolutely delicious! Besides, if the noodles don't taste good, customers won't come back to us, and they'll spread bad words about us, making it hard for us to do business. If it's delicious, would you also help spread the word?" The shop assistant invited Qiu Qingmiao to take a seat, smiling.

  "The noodles here are delicious!" A customer at another table exclaimed upon hearing Qiu Qingbing's words.

  The store was suddenly filled with applause, which made Qiu Qingming feel unexpected and expected.

  In less than half a moment, a bowl of steaming soup was placed in front of Qiu Qingmiao. The aroma wafted up, and the surface of the soup was covered with a layer of oil, making it clear that it was rich in ingredients. Adding to that were five round slices that looked like they were made from chicken meat, and Qiu Qingmiao couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

  Those round slices were the chicken ham purchased by Du Le. In order to make the noodles in the noodle shop worthy of their name, Du Le spent a lot of thought and also bought dozens of boxes of chicken ham and pork ham at the supermarket.

  "It's delicious! The flavor is unique, it's simply a heavenly delicacy!" Qiu Qingming took a few hot bites and suddenly felt that this mushroom stewed chicken noodles was indeed an extreme delicacy. He couldn't help but mutter to himself. Qiu Qingming knew that even in Jinyang City, there were only a few restaurants that could make such delicious noodles. More importantly, a bowl of noodles like this was actually so cheap.

  "Shopkeeper! A bowl of noodles like this should at least sell for five gold coins a bowl!" Qiu Qingmiao exclaimed involuntarily.

  Du Le Zheng just walked out of the kitchen and heard Qiu Qingming's shout, suddenly delighted. This is popularity! With a happy heart, Du Le shouted to Zhao Quan: "Give this old customer another bowl of braised pork ribs noodles, I'll treat him."

  For seven days in a row, except at night, Du Le was in Jinyang City, staring at his own noodle shop.

  As the noodle shop opened, Zhao Quan also bought a large courtyard house, which was divided into front and back yards, with a small garden. At the request of Zhao's family, Du Le did not buy another house, and the backyard became his residence in Jinyang City.

  After determining his new residence, Du Le immediately used the Energy Stone and set up a long-term transmission coordinate in his bedroom in the backyard, so he didn't have to transmit every time in that alley, which would inevitably lead to unexpected encounters over time.

  What surprised Du Le the most was that after setting the coordinates of the positioning transmitter, the upgrade experience of the transmitter suddenly increased to 65%. At the rate at which Du Le is currently transmitting every day, it will take at most a dozen or twenty days to level up.

  (Thank you for your collection and voting support! Ye Fan is grateful!)