Empress Cao seems to have sensed something in the past few days, especially with the imperial edicts that have been issued recently, which from time to time steer the conversation towards official rewards and gifts, and some even directly ask about the origin of the cake.

  She knew that goods are precious when rare and also understood that strange goods can be valuable, but then she couldn't figure out what Xier was going to do...

  Now that the entire capital has made its demands, why is Xier still not making a move? Coincidentally, these past few days she's been looking for those pastry chefs' apprentices... saying it's for training.

  Let him be. It's just that Tuo Niang is muttering to herself, worried about not having any cake to eat. Except for Xi Er, no one in the palace knows the recipe.

  Fortunately, someone at the girl's house delivered a message and followed the instructions. They have already bought out the neighboring households next to the cake house and transformed it into a dessert shop as per Xi'er's request.

  Empress Cao knew that all this was just a cover-up, or perhaps it was to mask the sweet aroma of baking cakes in the palace.

  After all, it's impossible to dismantle the palace walls, and in the end, the cake still has to enter and exit from the palace gate, and will still be known by the imperial court.

  This morning, the merchant is not a lowly occupation. There are not a few merchants among the royal relatives. It's just that she herself has been so indulgent to Xi'er, whether it will bring trouble to the official family or affect Xi'er's reputation. She was a bit confused and couldn't think about the distant future.

  "Sanlang, how about making a cake for Tuan'niang to eat? If you do, Tuan'niang won't disturb your reading anymore and won't hide your brush. Auntie asked Tuan'niang to do it but she refused, as long as Sanlang makes a cake for her..."

  This girl, for her own sake, has also sold out her aunt.

  "There will be cake today."

  Zhao Xi finished speaking and was thinking of how to get rid of Tiao Niang, when Xiao Yatou called out to the attendants to go to the imperial dining room.

  Want to eat cake, but even the pastry chef can't be bothered with me.

  "Mother, today we can let Uncle's side spread the word that on the day after tomorrow, the cake shop will open for business and only sell 1,000 pieces on the first day."

  Zhao Xi felt that the atmosphere was almost set, now is the right time, if it's delayed for a few more days, the children might still remember, but adults will probably suppress this demand with strong measures.

  All the capital's masters are gone, and when there is no way to solve it, the adults will only violently suppress the children's demands. It has always been the same since ancient times.

  "Xī ér, why are you only selling it for 1,000 yuan?"

  Empress Cao still remembered the house next to the palace wall, where Xi'er had ordered a clay oven to be built. Three to five thousand pieces should be doable in a day.

  "The child has his own plans."

  This child, again with this sentence.

  "Xier, how much does this cake cost?"

  This is the main point, she thought it should be equivalent to Cao's old lady's meat pie...

  Empress Cao had no concept of market prices in her mind. In her opinion, the food she made herself should naturally be priced by herself.

  However, Zhao Xi understood that at this time, there was already an embryonic form of price management, basically dominated by guilds.

  Of course, on the premise that you have a plan, it's better to go and set up a meeting with the line.

  "Girl, calculate one dou of wheat as sixty coins, and one dou of wheat can produce eight to ten kilograms of flour. One kilogram of flour is just enough to make one kilogram of cake. Also, there are eggs, white sugar, yeast, etc."

  "The child thinks that each piece of cake can be initially set at 5 to 10 cents. The inner courtyard can be sold to the uncle for 3 to 5 cents per piece. Please also ask the empress to inform the uncle and negotiate with the trade association."

  Zhao Xi didn't go too far, although he knew that this thing was mostly consumed by the literati class at the beginning.

  In this era, scholars and officials were really very wealthy.

  He was vague about how many cakes can be made with a catty of cake, and didn't say how many eggs are in each piece of cake... Isn't this not calculating the intellectual property rights and added value?

  It's not a big deal, one cake is just 15 times the cost, these trivial matters won't be told to your lady.

  After finishing speaking, Zhao Xi left and went to arrange today's production tasks.

  He has already trained a batch of cake makers over the past two days and also let Liu Yi buy enough ingredients for tomorrow's cakes. Everything is ready, just waiting for his order.

  This place has a great advantage, once you enter the palace, you won't be able to leave until death, these people are completely like family members... as long as you don't treat them badly, they will be loyal to death.

  Cao Xiang stood foolishly in the cake shop... What kind of cake shop is this? Except for being decorated like a dessert shop, there's nothing else, it's empty.

  The word is out that tomorrow will be a grand opening for selling cakes, but the problem is he has never even seen what a cake looks like.

  It's getting dark, and there is still no news from the host family...

  Cao Xiang has been a servant for five years, if it weren't for the fact that everyone in his wife's family is an official or lives off others, he would not have had this opportunity.

  Now it's his turn, he can't sell himself tomorrow, can he?

  "Dong..."

  Suddenly a loud noise scared Cao Xiang. Following the sound... it seemed to be coming from inside, in the direction of the palace wall.

  Cao Xiang Zhuang plucked up his courage and entered the inner house... When did the palace wall have a hole?

  The government has always been kind, building houses against the palace wall, and the residents who borrow the palace wall save a wall of construction. The government never complains.

  So, once the palace wall is breached, this house can be considered connected to the imperial palace.

  "But isn't Cao Xiang Cao's shopkeeper?"

  Cao Xiang heard this and thought it was calling him.

  "I am he."

  "Where's your partner? Why are you alone?"

  "My buddy will come tomorrow."

  "Idiot! Tomorrow morning, all of Beijing will be surrounded by people buying cakes from the shop. Are you waiting for your colleagues to make a cake for you?"

  Liu Yi didn't have a bit of flattery at this time.

  "Hurry up! You're delaying the important matters of the king and queen, you can't just drag your feet!"

  Liu Yi also knew that this person was definitely not a legitimate child, otherwise the empress would not have let him do such business.

  "What should I, a humble person from a remote area, do?"

  He really didn't notice. The whole Bianliang City was discussing the cake, and he knew what it would be like tomorrow without thinking about it. The problem is that he hasn't seen the cake yet.

  "Hurry up and call a reliable comrade to take the cake!"

  "I'm just an ordinary official, I don't understand."

  What a fool! Liu Yi threw a piece of cake from the hole in the palace wall...

  "Reward you! Go quickly and come back quickly."

  Is this a cake? Cao Xiang was infatuated, this is really fragrant and sweet.

  ……

  It's not even midnight yet, and there are all sorts of people walking along the palace walls towards a single destination... the cake shop!

  Cao Xiang was busy until midnight, and only then did he carefully arrange the food called cake according to the arrangement of that government official.

  As soon as it opened in the morning, Cao Xiang was shocked. He had expected a crowded scene, but he hadn't thought that people would be so crazy about food...

  The gate was crowded with people, all dressed in a dignified manner, and at a glance, they were the masters of various families.

  "I am at the home of Wang Xueshi in Zhengshitang..."

  "I am Zheng, an imperial inspector from the Censorate..."

  "I am from the Du family..."

  "I am from the Jia family..."

  I'm going! Cao Xiang is blind! This... that's not something I can afford to provoke... No! Right now, I'm doing errands for Prince E and the Empress Dowager, although I shouldn't say it, but I also can't lose face in front of the Empress Dowager and the Prince.

  "Listen up! Line up in four rows. Those who cut in line, quarrel or don't line up won't get any cake today!"

  Does Cao Xiang still remember what the government official taught him last night? He shouted even louder at this time.