Chapter 8: Selling the Shop (Please Favorite and Recommend)

Chapter 8: Selling the Tavern (Please support and recommend)

After tasting the dishes, the young gentleman in the purple robe stood up and cupped his hands toward Li Qi, praising, “I never expected that someone as young as you would possess such exquisite culinary skills. Even compared to the imperial chefs in the palace, you would not be outshone.”

Imperial chefs? Could he be someone from the palace?

Li Qi’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained calm as he smiled and replied, “It is said that a scholar would die for a confidant. The most important thing for a good chef is to meet someone who truly appreciates good food. I heard your evaluations of each dish just now—each word hit the mark. You must have tasted many rare delicacies. It is truly my honor to cook for you.”

One must admit, Li Qi’s flattery was perfectly timed and left no trace of insincerity.

The young gentleman in the purple robe seemed quite pleased and laughed heartily. “I didn’t expect you to be not only a superb cook but also very witty in speech. Meeting you today has been well worth the trip. May I ask your full name?”

“I am Li Qi,” Li Qi bowed slightly.

“So it is Brother Li. A pleasure to meet you.” The young gentleman cupped his hands but did not reveal his own name. Instead, he subtly nodded to his attendant.

The attendant immediately withdrew two silver ingots from his bosom and handed them to Li Qi. “These are a tip from our young master.”

Wu Xiaoliu’s eyes gleamed. This was fifty taels of silver—more than their entire month’s income.

This showed just how dismal the tavern’s turnover had been that month.

The young gentleman added, “Just a small token. Please do not refuse, Brother Li.”

Li Qi had no intention of refusing; after all, one pays for a meal. Smiling, he said, “Then I shall accept it with gratitude.” He took the silver and passed it to Wu Xiaoliu.

Seeing Li Qi’s straightforwardness, the young gentleman’s eyes flickered with approval. He invited Li Qi to sit down, and the two enjoyed their meal and conversation with great pleasure.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the young gentleman noticed the late hour, stood to take his leave, and promised he would surely visit again.

Li Qi saw him to the door, then returned with a sigh, full of regret. In truth, he was dissatisfied with the three dishes he had just prepared. If it were before, such dishes would have been tossed into the trash before leaving the kitchen.

It wasn’t that his skills had declined, but he had been ill-prepared and limited by ingredients, which led to the poor quality. Yet, this had been his best effort—it was no easy feat.

Li Qi knew very well that the young gentleman’s praise came mainly because the dishes were novel and had unique flavors. Stir-frying had only begun recently in the Northern Song Dynasty, usually practiced only by imperial chefs or cooks at grand restaurants. But stir-frying was Li Qi’s specialty. Without exaggeration, in the Northern Song, no one dared claim first place in stir-frying skills ahead of him.

“Brother Li, this twice-cooked pork you made is absolutely delicious,”

As Li Qi reentered the hall, he saw Wu Xiaoliu greedily devouring the leftover twice-cooked pork, his mouth smeared with grease, speaking in a muffled manner.

Even Wu Furong picked up his chopsticks to taste the three remaining dishes. Though not as exaggerated as Wu Xiaoliu, his face could not hide his delight.

Li Qi usually ignored such simple praises of “delicious.” He walked over and sat beside Wu Furong with a faint smile. “Uncle Wu, what do you think?”

“Not bad! Truly not bad. Young brother, I underestimated your culinary skills,” Wu Furong clicked his tongue appreciatively.

“Of course! Uncle, didn’t you hear what that gentleman said? Brother Li’s skills rival those of the palace chefs,” Wu Xiaoliu chimed in. Then, as if recalling something, he sighed regretfully. “If Madam hadn’t decided to sell the tavern, we could have hired Brother Li as the head chef at Drunken Immortal Tavern. Business would surely be much better.”

“Sell the tavern?”

Li Qi’s expression tightened. “Uncle Wu, why sell the tavern?”

Wu Furong sighed heavily. “Young brother, you must have noticed business has been slow lately.”

Li Qi nodded slightly. Slow was an understatement—practically deserted.

He had long wanted to ask about this. The Drunken Immortal Tavern was located in one of Bianjing’s prime areas; business should not have fallen so low. The root cause was the lack of a good chef. Li Qi had tasted the cooking of Chef Zhou, and it was hard to describe it as anything but poor. With such a chef, closure was inevitable. But Zhou treated him well, so Li Qi hesitated to bring this up.

Since Li Qi arrived at the Drunken Immortal Tavern, Wu Furong had treated him like family. He sighed deeply and recounted the entire story.

The tavern had been established by a wealthy Qin family, whose ancestors had run the business for three generations. It was a well-known establishment in the capital, Bianliang.

In the past, the Drunken Immortal Tavern was famous and almost always packed, with thriving business.

But a few years ago, the young owner suddenly died mysteriously without any heirs. The tavern was handed over to his wife, Madam Qin, who knew nothing of business and rarely visited the tavern herself. She entrusted the management to Wu Furong.

When Li Qi heard Madam Qin had passed the tavern to Wu Furong, he realized this was the key reason for the tavern’s decline. Wu Furong was kind-hearted and sincere but lacked the cunning required for business. Such a person might be a good steward but was ill-suited for decision-making. In business, without a bit of ruthlessness and strategy, failure is inevitable.

Wu Furong was a veteran of two generations at the tavern. He started as a waiter in his youth, and later, because he could read a little, was promoted to manager. He was very familiar with operations. When he first took over, business was stable, if unspectacular.

But two years ago, the rival Jade Pavilion suddenly rose to prominence, and the Drunken Immortal Tavern began its decline. The owner of the Jade Pavilion was said to be a former cook from the household of Duke Cai Jing of the State of Lu, originally surnamed Qiu but changed to Cai upon entering the duke’s service. Known as Lord Cai, he was ruthless and relentless. Within six months of opening, he had poached the Drunken Immortal Tavern’s top chefs and even its waitstaff, leaving the tavern suddenly shorthanded.

With no choice, Wu Furong had to rehire Chef Zhou, who had once been the tavern’s head chef. Zhou was skilled once but had retired for years. He wanted to enjoy his retirement, but out of gratitude, he returned to help. Unfortunately, his diminished taste buds made his dishes overly strong in flavor, difficult for most to enjoy.

Since then, business plummeted, and loyal customers disappeared. The worst part was Wu Furong, out of respect for Zhou, concealed this problem. He tried hiring new chefs, but none were skilled, and business did not improve. Those chefs left within a few months. Even the waitstaff dwindled, leaving only Wu Xiaoliu.

In the past six months, the tavern lost money every single day. Their savings were nearly exhausted. Madam Qin had lost interest and decided to sell the tavern. She summoned Wu Furong and Chef Zhou to discuss the sale. Though they called it a discussion, everyone knew selling was the only option left.

What a twisting story—worthy of a television drama, Li Qi thought with a sigh. He asked, “Have you found a buyer?”

Wu Furong’s face darkened with worry as he shook his head. “The Drunken Immortal Tavern is neither too big nor too small. Few can afford to buy it. Usually, only those experienced in running taverns would be willing to invest such a large sum.”

“Then find someone in the business! There are so many taverns in Bianjing. Surely one would want to buy this place?”

Li Qi was puzzled. Even aside from the prime location, in his time, people would have fought over such a property before the owner even made an offer.

Wu Furong shook his head. “You don’t know. Although there are over seventy taverns in Bianjing, the Drunken Immortal Tavern is close to the Jade Pavilion, which is the rising star in the business. Most taverns don’t dare to take the risk. In my opinion, only Fan’s Tavern in the East City and Yang’s Tavern in the North City might buy it without fear of the Jade Pavilion. But Fan’s Tavern is already the most prosperous in Bianjing, with branches all over the city, so it’s unlikely they want this one. Yang’s Tavern’s owner is conservative; I’ve spoken to them, but they have no plans.”

“So that leaves only the Jade Pavilion?” Li Qi frowned. This was definitely bad news for the Drunken Immortal Tavern.

Wu Furong sighed and nodded.

“In that case, Lord Cai would surely drive the price down, right?” Li Qi asked. At times like this, a ruthless buyer would squeeze every last coin. After all, the seller is desperate, not the buyer. The longer you wait, the more you lose.

Wu Furong was slightly surprised, then smiled. “I didn’t expect young brother to be so skilled not only in cooking but also in business!”

Li Qi smiled in silence. Such tactics were common knowledge in his day—even a street vendor knew them.

Wu Furong nodded. “Actually, Madam asked me last month to sound out Lord Cai, but he said he would only pay 4,000 guan, while I estimate the tavern’s worth at least 8,000 guan.”

That was a harsh cut in price. Li Qi smiled wryly. “What does Madam intend to do now?”

“She said we’ll wait another month. If no one else comes forward, we’ll have no choice but to sell to Lord Cai,” Wu Furong sighed.

Li Qi knew the Drunken Immortal Tavern would most likely fall into Lord Cai’s hands.

(End of chapter)