Chapter 175 My Best Friend Opens a Shop
Li Deguang pondered for a long time, still feeling uneasy. "That kid has more schemes than a honeycomb briquette; he definitely has an ulterior motive! We must be on guard!"
Meanwhile, Shen Yulou had no time to bother with Li Deguang's internal drama.
He was currently busy painting a grand picture for his newly developed best friend.
He sought out Seventh Princess Zhao Qi again.
Zhao Qi was still beautiful and captivating; seeing Shen Yulou today, a smile appeared on her face.
With a slight smile, the princess looked even more beautiful.
"Sister, you were looking for me?"
Shen Yulou had already grown accustomed to and very comfortable with this identity.
In his previous life, he had slept with many exquisite women in the guise of a male best friend.
However, the Seventh Princess's status was extraordinary, and Shen Yulou dared not make a move so easily.
"Your Highness, having ideas is not enough; ideas must be monetized!
We must start a venture to show His Majesty that Your Highness not only has advanced ideas but is also excellent at making money!"
As Shen Yulou spoke, he led the princess to the kitchen.
Soon, a steaming bowl of noodles with a clear broth, topped with a few vibrant green scallions, was served.
"Here, Your Highness, try what I made for you personally."
Zhao Qi took the bowl, and the fragrant aroma made her appetite soar.
She elegantly picked up a strand with her chopsticks, put it into her mouth, tasted it carefully, and then her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"This... isn't this just rice noodles? Your humble servant has eaten them before; they're nothing special."
"Oh?" Shen Yulou smiled mysteriously. "Then does Your Highness know what Crossing the Bridge Noodles are?"
Zhao Qi shook her head, her face blank.
Indeed.
Shen Yulou snapped his fingers in his mind.
He had long figured out that although this world had rice noodles, the way they were eaten was extremely simple, much like regular noodles—just a bowl of soupy boiled noodles.
They had rice noodles, but not Crossing the Bridge Noodles.
Although only two words were different, the meaning behind them varied greatly.
Moreover, this dish was firmly labeled as a 'poor man's delight.'
In the eyes of those high officials and noble families, eating this was simply demeaning and losing face.
But precisely because of this, there was enormous profit to be made, profit that others could not see.
Shen Yulou coaxed, "We'll package it, change the way it's eaten, change the story, and specifically sell it to these wealthy officials and nobles—this is Crossing the Bridge Noodles!"
"Let them feel that only by eating our Crossing the Bridge Noodles are they truly superior, truly prestigious."
"Even those who haven't eaten Crossing the Bridge Noodles won't be able to hold their heads high when speaking to others."
"Are you saying open a restaurant?" Zhao Qi was stunned for a moment.
"Exactly!"
Shen Yulou nodded in agreement, "We'll open it in your name, Princess!
You don't need to worry about anything; just be a hands-off boss and wait for the dividends.
However..."
Shen Yulou smiled slightly, "Your Highness must allow Your humble servant to invest, with a fifty-fifty split."
The princess was taken aback, "I let you invest?"
The princess thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "You may."
Shen Yulou suddenly felt that her words sounded a bit off.
"Ahem... Thank you, Princess."
Zhao Qi readily agreed; her mind was currently filled with starting a venture, impressing her imperial father, and completely escaping the fate of an arranged marriage.
As for shares and such, she didn't care at all.
In her eyes, this male best friend was simply an immortal sent by heaven to save her!
The two hit it off immediately and finalized the plan for this rice noodle restaurant on the spot.
"So, where will we open our shop?" Zhao Qi asked.
Shen Yulou pointed out the window, vaguely towards a direction.
"Next to Juewei Tower."
Zhao Qi was instantly dumbfounded: "How can that work? Juewei Tower is so popular now; going next to it isn't that just asking for death?"
"Your Highness, you don't understand this."
Shen Yulou began his business lecture, "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there were two tea drink sellers, one called Ruixing, and the other called Mixue..."
Shen Yulou embellished and recounted the famous business case from later generations to the princess.
"Ruixing had a specialized team under them that spent all their time researching the market and selecting locations, investing a lot of manpower and resources, and ultimately choosing a very good location."
The princess nodded, "This 'Ruixing' did well; that's how business should be done."
Shen Yulou's tone shifted.
"Princess, Ruixing did well, but what do you think Mixue did?"
"Mixue didn't have this department at all; it directly chose to open alongside Ruixing. Wherever Ruixing opened, Mixue would immediately open next to it within half a month."
"This not only saved them the tedious and expensive work of site selection and market research."
"It also allowed them to snatch a large wave of customers from the other party."
After listening, the princess's face showed deep shock.
"You can play it like that?! That's too cunning, isn't it?"
"Basic operation, basic operation." Shen Yulou calmly waved his hand.
"We'll just follow Juewei Tower. If it opens a branch, we'll open one; wherever it goes, we'll go."
The princess nodded. Although this method was a bit underhanded, it seemed quite effective.
Thus, the two immediately decided and headed straight for Juewei Tower... Next to Juewei Tower was Swallow Wing Tower.
It was also a very popular restaurant back then.
Before, that Eunuch Chen, Chen Rongmao, claimed he tasted overnight shrimp oil at Swallow Wing Tower, and then Swallow Wing Tower's business plummeted.
At the time, this incident did cause some dissatisfaction among diners.
However, it was far from enough to make their business plummet.
This was Eunuch Chen trying to glorify himself.
After Eunuch Chen had his comeuppance, he became much more well-behaved and never brought up the matter again.
The Boss Wang of Swallow Wing Tower was named Wang.
At this moment, Boss Wang was packing up the tables and chairs in the shop with a bitter face, preparing to completely close down and go back to farming.
Ever since Juewei Tower opened next door, his business had been going downhill, and now he might not even get a single customer in a day.
Just as he was idly bored, Shen Yulou and Zhao Qi walked in.
"Boss, is this shop for sale?"
When Boss Wang heard this, his eyes turned green, and he was ecstatic.
Oh my god! Finally, a sucker has come knocking!
He suppressed his excitement, put on a troubled expression, and began to haggle with Shen Yulou.
"My Swallow Wing Tower is a landmark in the imperial city. It's just that I have something to attend to back home, which is why I'm reluctantly selling it. The price is not low, so please consider it carefully, honored guests."
Shen Yulou snorted coldly; the biggest fallacy in this world was a 'prime location for lease.'
The princess originally wanted to reveal her identity directly to pressure the other party.
But Shen Yulou stopped her with a glance.
Shen Yulou began his bargaining mode, at one moment saying there were termites in his roof beams, at another saying his floor tiles were uneven.
He left Boss Wang stunned, and finally, at a rock-bottom price, he took over the shop.
Actually, this was already Boss Wang's bottom line.
It was just that by going back and forth like this, both parties felt more comfortable.
After signing the contract, Shen Yulou called Boss Wang aside and, with a smile, pointed to Zhao Qi.
"Boss Wang, this is the current Seventh Princess. Why aren't you bowing?"
Boss Wang's face changed drastically.
"Thud!"
His legs gave out, and he knelt on the spot, his head buzzing.
My goodness, the princess herself came to buy my broken shop?