Chapter 57: The Grand Opening of the Restaurant

He then walked out and carefully inspected the shops at both ends of North Street, finding a total of five restaurants:
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the Welcoming Guest Pavilion, the Natural Abode, the Peaceful Harmony Pavilion, and his own River-Watching Pavilion.
The other four were all larger and better scaled than the River-Watching Pavilion. As it was nearly noon, quite a few diners were already coming and going.

Returning to the Moon-Watching Pavilion—which he internally corrected back to River-Watching Pavilion—he found Fan Tong making a flashy, flirtatious display of winking and talking to Tian Xi'er, who wore a look of utter helplessness.
Lin Feng walked up and grabbed him by the ear.
Fan Tong winced and cried out, "Ouch... ouch..."
"If you misbehave again, my opening-day dish tomorrow will be braised pig's head!"
Fan Tong cupped his hands together in a plea for mercy. "I won't dare! I really won't dare!"
"Are you done writing!?"
"Done!"
Only then did Lin Feng release his pig-like ear.
Fan Tong immediately picked up the sheets of paper from the table and handed them to Lin Feng.
Fan Tong had written in considerable detail, listing the signature dishes, drinks, flavors, and prices of every restaurant on North Street.
"It looks like you glutton haven't missed many places!"
"The restaurants, gambling dens, and brothels in Jiang City..." Fan Tong glanced at Tian Xi'er and, for the sake of maintaining his glorious image, stopped himself. "I know them all like the back of my hand."
He truly was a standard, pampered young wastrel.

At that moment, Zhang Yuan walked in through the back door. "Brother, you need to ponder tomorrow's menu carefully. Thirty-six hundred taels of silver a month means we need a net profit of at least one hundred and twenty taels a day! You've got to bring out your big moves and come up with some rare dishes."
"What!? One hundred and twenty taels a day!?" Fan Tong almost jumped up. "I doubt all of the Jiang family's shops combined make that much money in a day! You're even better at bragging than I am!"
So he even knew he was a braggart!
"Good dishes are an absolute must; they are the foundation of a restaurant. Ultimately, guests come for one single word: food. Only when the food is good will they become repeat customers. However, the most important thing for tomorrow is drawing people in—we need to guide customers right into our restaurant."
Tian Xi'er spoke up, "Big Brother Lin, is it like the first day at Fragrance Bowl, starting with a half-price promotion?"
"Xi'er is indeed making progress."
"It's all thanks to Big Brother Lin's teaching."
Lin Feng smiled. "As I said just now, the first step is drawing people in. I will assign the tasks now; tomorrow, you just need to do your respective jobs well."
Fan Tong asked, "Hero Chen..."
"Don't call me Hero Chen. I should be a few years older than you; just call me Brother."
"Big Brother!" Fan Tong laughed. "I'm finding it quite interesting to follow a big brother like you; it's a lot of fun! I want to see how Big Brother manages to earn thirty-six hundred taels a month. If you really pull it off, I'll even call you Grandpa!"
"Get lost! First, let me assign you a task. Tomorrow, you are to do this and that..."

The next morning, West North Street was as lively as ever, but a large crowd had gathered right outside the entrance of the River-Watching Pavilion.
This was not merely because the River-Watching Pavilion was reopening, but because a strip of cloth banner was hung vertically on the left side of the entrance, bearing the first line of a couplet: *Time is ruthless, and the wind is deliberate.*
Though people did not know what this single line signified, it genuinely attracted those who fancied themselves men of literary talent.
A few young gentlemen holding folding fans whispered among themselves.
"This opening line is rather well crafted!"
"It's a fine verse, but why is there no matching second line?"
"Could it be that no matching line has been written yet?"
"..."

At that moment, two people walked out of the River-Watching Pavilion—Xiao Die and Liu Xi. They carried an exquisite long table and placed it on the right side of the entrance, then went back inside and emerged with a basket of items.
The two arranged the items on the long table, and to everyone's surprise, they were strings of beautiful fruit.
This time, Lin Feng had prepared not only candied hawthorns, but also candied Chinese bayberries. Bayberries happened to mature in May and were a local specialty; inexpensive, sweet, and tart, they made delicious candied fruit on a stick as well.
A curious onlooker asked, "What are these?"
Xiao Die smiled and said, "These are candied fruit skewers, a specialty food of our restaurant."
"Are you selling these here?"
"We aren't selling them today; we probably will starting tomorrow."
"How much for a skewer?"
"Eighty wen."
"That's a bit pricey, isn't it? Aren't they just made from mountain red berries and bayberries? They just look pretty."
"..."

Prices varied by location. Lin Feng had spent yesterday afternoon touring the north, south, east, and west of Jiang City, and found it to be indeed one of the rare prosperous places in the Great Chu Dynasty. The cost of living was high, and the consumption level of the common people was at least two grades higher than that of Lupin Town.
Naturally, the price of the candied skewers had to be raised.
Of course, if he had gone to an impoverished place like Pingzhou, probably no one would be willing to spend even eight wen on a skewer.

Just then, a plump young man walked out of the restaurant.
Someone immediately recognized him. "Isn't this Fan Tong? Why is he showing up at the River-Watching Pavilion?"
"Fatty Fan, what are you doing here?!" someone asked with a laugh.
"This is the restaurant my big brother opened!" Fan Tong said proudly.
"Your big brother? Old Manager Zhang?"
"What Old Manager Zhang? Management has changed! My big brother's surname is Lin, Manager Lin!"
Fan Tong waved his hand and said loudly, "Elder brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts of Jiang City! Today is the reopening day of the River-Watching Pavilion, and you've all come at the right time. Today, the River-Watching Pavilion is rolling out super welfare benefits for opening day! Anyone who comes to dine today gets a buy-one-get-one-free deal on everything!"
"Buy one get one free? Is there really such a good deal?"
"That's right, it's that good!" Fan Tong declared. "Anyone who comes to dine in the restaurant, regardless of how much they spend, can get a free skewer of candied fruit before leaving. You are probably all seeing these candied fruit skewers for the first time. The taste is simply breathtaking—one bite and you'll feel like you're in heaven! If bought individually, they cost eighty wen a skewer. After today, if you want to eat them tomorrow, you'll have to come buy them at our restaurant's takeout stall."
"If we find them delicious after eating one and come back to buy more today, is it still free?"
"Are you buying individually, or coming back to dine in the restaurant?"
"Buying individually."
"Buying individually means half price! We can sell them to you for forty wen. But if you come back into the River-Watching Pavilion to dine, you can still get a free skewer of candied fruit when you leave."
"That's not bad at all."
"..."

Fan Tong continued in a loud voice, "Today, there is also a special welfare benefit prepared for the talented scholars and ladies of Jiang City! As everyone can see, the left side of our restaurant features an opening couplet line. If anyone can compose the matching second line, they may proceed to the third floor of our River-Watching Pavilion, and all the food and wine will be on the house!"
Some of the young talents couldn't help cheering in approval.
"That's truly wonderful."
"This River-Watching Pavilion is quite interesting."
"To enjoy the moonlight, view West Lake, and compose poems while drinking wine on the third floor—how magnificent!"
"Stop talking, hurry up and think of the matching line."
"..."

Fan Tong went on, "These are the benefits for our opening day. Tomorrow we will roll out new perks, so please continue to patronize our River-Watching Pavilion tomorrow as well. And now, everyone is welcome to enter the restaurant and enjoy some wine and food!"
Then someone shouted loudly, "Let's go in and see how the food tastes!?" Several people immediately walked into the restaurant, exchanging a wink with Fan Tong as they entered.
The very first people to go in were a group of bad company and fair-weather friends that Lin Feng had asked Fan Tong to round up. No matter how brilliantly one brags, one still needs a vanguard to step up and start the applause.