The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 17: Becoming a Shareholder of the Plum Blossom Restaurant

Mei Hanxue’s Plum Blossom Restaurant bore a striking resemblance to the layout of restaurants in later generations. The first floor served as the main hall, with over twenty tables—reserved for ordinary folk. The second floor also had a dozen or so tables, but these were arranged along the windows. With poems and paintings in black ink on white paper hanging on the walls, this was the place where so-called literati gathered to compose poetry and exchange couplets. The third floor was divided into private rooms, serving as quiet spaces for those wishing to discuss matters in private. The fourth floor, however, features three large private rooms—I’m not sure if they’re meant for gatherings or for throwing “parties.” This Plum Blossom Restaurant was large—very large indeed; by later standards, it could be considered a small restaurant. However, at this moment, the Plum Blossom Restaurant was deserted; not a single customer was dining there—presumably because the kitchen in the back had run out of ingredients. After Li Xuanba had taken a good look around his family’s Plum Blossom Restaurant and introduced Du Xingxuan and Du Shuangshuang, Mei Hanxue had calmed down. Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked at Li Xuanba. “Young Master Li, with the Plum Blossom Restaurant looking so deserted, are you still willing to buy a stake? For a hundred taels of silver, you could buy a decent restaurant in a prime location in Chang’an.” Li Xuanba’s lips curled slightly into a faint smile at Mei Hanxue, causing her heart to skip a beat once more. “Invest? Of course I’ll invest! The restaurants in Chang’an may be fine, but it’s too chaotic there—it doesn’t suit my temperament.” Besides, there’s no landlady as beautiful as you there! Looking at Mei Hanxue, Li Xuanba added another thought he couldn’t voice aloud. The proprietors of restaurants in Chang’an are usually middle-aged men—who wouldn’t want to partner with them and run a restaurant alongside this beautiful proprietress? Isn’t that the greatest joy on earth? “All right! Since Young Master Li wishes to become a shareholder, let’s first settle the share distribution. My Plum Blossom Restaurant only makes ten guan in copper coins annually, and the restaurant is worth approximately fifty guan. If you invest one hundred taels, you’ll hold a sixty percent stake.” When it came to business matters, the shyness vanished from Mei Hanxue’s face, and she once again took on the demeanor of a proud, snow-white plum blossom. Her jade-like hands moved the beads of her abacus ceaselessly, and in less than a minute, she had calculated everything precisely. “Sixty percent? That’s far too much. Ten percent would be enough for me,” Li Xuanba said, pulling back and staring at Mei Hanxue. His brows furrowed slightly as he watched her jade-like hands; he felt that sixty percent was excessive. In later times, wouldn’t that mean he’d become the largest shareholder the moment he invested? Mei Hanxue brushed a strand of hair from behind her ear, ignoring the gleam in Li Xuanba’s eyes. She held out the massive silver note in her hand toward him, her cool voice ringing out once more, “Without your investment, Li Xuanba, my Meihua Restaurant might not be able to stay in business. Giving you sixty percent is already a favor to you. If you don’t agree, then please take back this one hundred taels of silver note!” Looking at the 100-tael silver note in her delicate hand, Li Xuanba rubbed his nose, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. “Um… all right! Sixty percent it is.” Hehe! Who cares how much he invests? I didn’t come here for the restaurant—I came here just for you! With business matters settled, the restaurant staff and chefs came to pay their respects to Li Xuanba, the new owner. Glancing at the chef in his forties or fifties standing before him, Li Xuanba waved him over and ordered, “I’ve just taken over today. Go prepare a feast for me: four cold dishes, four hot dishes, a large bowl of soup, and four—no, make that fourteen—servings of the main dish.” “As you command, Master.” Realizing Li Xuanba intended to put him to the test, the chef respectfully clasped his hands in a bow, then gave a proud smile before turning and heading toward the kitchen. While the chef went to prepare the meal, Mei Hanxue, acting like a hostess, addressed Du Xingxuan and the other young woman: “Ladies, please don’t just stand there—come, have a seat!” “Thank you, Sister Hanxue!” Du Xingxuan led Du Shuangshuang in a curtsy to Mei Hanxue, then pulled Du Shuangshuang to sit across from Mei Hanxue, as if the first wife were facing the second. Ahem… All of this was merely what Li Xuanba imagined; in reality, the three young women were chatting happily, and there was no clinking of eyes or any such tension. Just as Li Xuanba was glancing back and forth between the three beautiful young women, in less than thirty minutes, the chef brought out the eight dishes Li Xuanba had ordered—four cold, four hot—along with that large bowl of soup and 14 servings of staple foods, all while wearing a look of pride on his face. But while the chef was proud, Li Xuanba was left somewhat dumbfounded. He knew that food in this era wasn’t exactly top-notch, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad. A plate of salt-boiled winter amaranth—or rather, salt-boiled okra… Hmm… a health food. Braised wild chives—stir-fried, or braised wild chives? “Sheepskin Shredded Strips”—stir-fried shredded lamb; technically a meat dish, but the smell of game was overwhelming. Braised eggplant—the only decent dish. Steamed Pork with Garlic Sauce—a plate of steamed, sliced pork, served with a side of mashed garlic. Grilled Duck with Pepper Salt — Roast duck served with a side of pepper salt; not bad—it has that Yanjiing-style roast duck vibe. Boneless Fresh Fish Sashimi—Tang Dynasty-style sashimi. Ahem… river fish can be full of bacteria. Pig’s Head with Skin and Meat — What are you doing shoving a pig’s head in my face? Soup—very good. Egg drop soup—just eggs and scallions. Staple food? Li Xuanba was very familiar with these: sesame flatbreads, a Tang Dynasty specialty that still existed in Chang’an in later generations—a flatbread as big as a person’s face. Looking at the eight dishes before him—four cold and four hot—along with a bowl of egg drop soup and fourteen huge flatbreads, Li Xuanba’s face twitched uncontrollably. Seeing that Li Xuanba seemed to look down on the meal he’d prepared, the middle-aged chef furrowed his brow and bowed his fist toward Li Xuanba. “Master, how do you find the meal I, Old Huang, have prepared? Please do give it a try!” “Um… sure! Um, Miss Mei, Xingxuan, and Shuangshuang, come sit down and eat with us—let’s all eat together,” Li Xuanba set aside the suspicious-looking sashimi, paying no heed to the chef’s somewhat displeased expression, and then beckoned the three women—Mei Hanxue and the others—to join him. He’d caused this mess himself, so he had no choice but to eat it—but surely he could have these three beautiful young ladies join him for the meal! “Mm-hmm!” “Thank you, Brother Xuanba!” “Sure!” Li Xuanba might have been put off by it, but Mei Hanxue and the other two weren’t. It was nearly noon anyway—time for lunch—and they were hungry too. After the three women sat down, much to Li Xuanba’s astonishment, they moved in perfect unison: with their left hands holding a flatbread, they elegantly broke off small pieces to eat, while their right hands picked up chopsticks to pick up the dishes in front of them, eating them directly alongside the flatbread and egg drop soup. “Is it really that good?” Watching the three women tuck in with such gusto, Li Xuanba muttered to himself under his breath, then picked up a flatbread and took a bite. “Ugh!” Li Xuanba took just one bite of the flatbread, froze for a moment, then furrowed his brow and spat it right back out. How to describe this flatbread? In the Tang Dynasty of today, this flatbread mixed with wheat bran might still be considered passable. After all, the war had just ended, and the nation was in its early days—being able to eat a full meal was enough; who cared about whether it was delicious or not! But for Li Xuanba, coming from a later era, this flatbread was even harder to swallow than the food he’d begged for at the very beginning. First of all, the flatbread was hard. Second, it had absolutely no sweetness. And finally, because of the wheat bran mixed in—combined with the way the dough was kneaded—it actually made Li Xuanba’s throat feel like it was being torn apart. Since arriving in the Tang Dynasty, Li Xuanba had eaten three meals in total. For the first meal, he ate two roasted rabbits and two roasted roe deer. Although there was no salt, it was meat after all, and since he was starving at the time, he wolfed it down—it tasted absolutely delicious. For his second meal, he ate twelve jin of rice from his spatial pocket—the flavor was fragrant! Absolutely exquisite! The third meal was again twelve jin of rice from his spatial pocket. But for this fourth meal, suddenly having to eat these hard flatbreads mixed with wheat bran—how could he possibly get used to it!