Chapter 203
Since Baili Jue couldn’t see Xia Liang for now, he had to concentrate on national affairs . After he dealt with all work, he begun to read the new book Xia Liang gave to him .
Xia Liang rushed to copy the entire book of Sun Tzu's Art of War in two days so that Baili Jue could use it to train more talents to replace Chen Jingsheng .
The book was known as the textbook of battle skills which were useful for Baili Jue especially when he needed talents the most .
Baili Jue pulled up all night to read the book from cover to cover again and again . Finally he put down the book until it was dawn .
Standing up and stretching his arms and legs, Baili Jue still looked refreshing and ambitious although he didn’t sleep all night .
He walked outside and looked up into the sky at the rising sun . Baili Jue narrowed his eyes against the sunshine and saw the distant sky in southeast .
Uncle, you don’t need to go back this time . You should stay in the capital and retire now .
…
Over the next few days, Baili Jue had been busy with preparing the return of Chen Jingsheng and also spying on Baili Xi . As Xia Yuanzheng reported, it was not one hundred percent sure that Baili Xi had actually raised private soldiers, but it was worth taking advantage of the weapons in question .
On the bright side, they could use the weapons to defeat Prince of Rui and make it easier to fight against Chen Jingsheng .
Therefore, Baili Jue had been busy with making plans, too busy to see Xia Liang although he missed her so much . He also learned from the hidden guards that she had been busy like a bee these days .
Xia Liang’s initial plan was to open a few restaurants which could steal market share of Baili Xi’s business .
The reason why she chose restaurants was because it would be quick to reach the goal . It would take a short while to open restaurants as long as she chose shops, hired shopkeepers, staff and chef, and made interesting menus .
However, although she made a detailed plan, Xia Liang had to supervise the entire thing in person including decoration, staff interview and food selection .
Therefore she had to dress like a man, go out behind her mother’s back, to get everything under control . It usually took her one day to get everything done outside and she had to copy books at night, which usually took her a few hours at night .
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In only a few days, Xia Liang lost the weight which was used to be gained because of her mother’s extra care .
Therefore, Mrs . Xia forced Xia Liang to eat bowls of nutritious soup to help her recover from the old sickness . But it was a huge pain for Xia Liang .
The good thing was that she gained a lot after being busy for a few days .
A few old shops were newly decorated lately and replaced with a new shop name “Xiangkelai” . In just a few days, it was ready to be open .
Xia Liang’s plan was perfect and her action was quick and simple .
She used power, money and novel gourmet and low prices to steal Baili Xi’s business . Therefore, Xia Liang bought shops around every Pinxiang Ju .
Yes, she did it on purpose!
Her initial goal was to steal Baili Xi’s customers, not to make money . Even so, she wouldn’t lose money to the business because she could make a small profit but quick turnover .
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Xia Liang also chose to open the restaurants on the same day Chen Jingsheng returned . It would be a great chance to take advantage of his fame .
After she and Baili Jue discussed the whole thing, Xia Liang had people spread the news out saying that they were going to open the restaurants to welcome th army to return and also respect the soldiers who satisficed for the country, and also appreciate the General Chen for his sacrifice for people and the country .
On the first day of opening, the first five hundred customers could eat for free and the rest would enjoy a discount of 50% off .
Since the news was released, it caused a sensation immediately . Scholars and students praised the owner of the restaurants was loyal to the emperor, that the owner was a patriotic rather than a greedy businessman who only sought for money while they were having fun in some places such as the teahouse and wine shops .
Thanks to those scholars and students, Xiangkelai had expanded influence on customers and won a lot of great impressions before it was even open .
After that, Xia Liang took the advantage to expand the influence to leave an impression that eating at Xiangkelia was an action to show one’s loyalty to the country .
Besides, Xia Liang also set up a table for customers to try out sample cuisines for free .
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Passers-by were intrigued to stop before the table by the fragrant, mouth-watering and fresh food . Those who had tried out them were amazed how well they tasted . On their faces, they were obviously enjoying so much the food .
However, customers were only allowed to have one bite of the food . One single bite was definitely not good enough for those who had already been intrigued by the gourmet .
They wished they could crave for a good taste of the entire table of food at once .
After all these, not to mention those civil citizens, even those scholars were gradually brainwashed . While they were waiting for the return of General Chen, they were waiting for the opening of XIangkelai . They were ready to line up for the first five hundred spots so that they could have a nice meal .
Therefore, before Xiangkelai was open, it had gained a lot of fame . Those who had meals at Pinxiang Ju had kept talking about Xiangkelai next door .
Those who once tried Xiangkelai’s dishes even compared the two restaurants and commented that Pinxiang Ju’s food was less delicious than Xiangkelai’s .
When these comments were heard by Prince of Rui, he went outraged .
…