"Franchise? What does that mean?"
"Is it like the imperial court opening shops that we commoners can join?"
"The imperial court says they want to make money together with us."
"!"
Not just ordinary citizens, but even some traveling merchants and peddlers who came for breakfast were stunned.
"Franchise," a scholar in a brown cloth robe with a birthmark on his temple began to interpret the flyer in his hand. "For those who want to join, the imperial court will provide training on how to open a shop, how to make milk tea, fry dough sticks... They'll even help choose store locations, arrange shop decoration, and train staff."
"!"
"!!"
For a moment, everyone in the breakfast shop looked at each other in disbelief.
Had they heard correctly?
Was this manna falling from heaven?
And it was a big piece of manna sent by the imperial court!
"Is this for real? I've traveled far and wide, but I've never heard of such a thing!"
"I've been learning to cook from my master for five years, serving him like a father, and he still often keeps secrets, refusing to teach me the special recipes! ... Now I can learn to make milk tea from the imperial court just by signing up? The imperial court will teach me?"
The sound of people slurping soy milk and tofu pudding stopped as everyone looked to the scholar with the birthmark for confirmation.
This man was originally unremarkable, and they wouldn't have dared approach him before, but now his words sounded so appealing, even better than a storyteller!
"Can anyone learn? Are there any requirements?" Everyone eagerly questioned the birthmarked scholar, surrounding him in layers.
Only the Chu State sisters in the corner of the shop let out a light snort.
"Miss," the maid Yuan lowered her voice, "it's that unreasonable Zheng Qiru! The pedantic scholar we made a bet with!"
The Chu State sisters watched as he was surrounded by the commoners in the shop and shook their heads lightly. "How naive."
"Since ancient times, business has had its ups and downs. But the Jing Country's imperial court has managed to shift all the business risks onto the common people."
"Huh?" Maid Yuan didn't understand.
Ji Qiuyue, the elder sister, quickly coughed lightly and spoke up in a gruff voice, "May I ask, brother, does this red flyer mention whether commoners need to pay money to join the franchise?"
Zheng Qiru was taken aback. He turned around and saw it was Ji Qiuyue, the person from Chu State who always liked to argue with Jing Country.
His face immediately darkened.
"Oh yeah, the imperial court teaches us how to make milk tea and dough sticks, and even helps us choose store locations. Do we have to pay money for this?" someone asked.
"Ah, I knew there couldn't be such a good thing in this world!"
Half of the people who were excited earlier dispersed and returned to their tables to continue eating tofu pudding.
Zheng Qiru pursed his lips. "Everyone, it's quite normal to pay. Apprentices pay their masters to learn a trade, and students pay tuition to study in schools. How much more so for royal milk tea and dough stick shops?"
"It says here that the Imperial Kitchen chefs will teach, and in the future, when the Imperial Kitchen invents new dishes, franchise owners will be the first to learn them."
"At the same time, as long as your shop meets the quality standards, you can use the royal name."
Several commoners in the shop seemed to understand now.
But Ji Chunyue chuckled, "I knew this would cost money. How desperate for money is the imperial court? Let me guess, with the royal name attached, this franchise fee must not be cheap. Is it over 500 taels of silver?"
This price made everyone in the shop change their expressions.
Five hundred taels to learn?
The imperial court was robbing them!
The milk tea next door only sold for five copper coins a cup!
"Scholar Zheng, does joining really cost so much?" someone couldn't help but ask. "Come on, tell us everything."
"Yes, tell us!"
Zheng Qiru frowned, glanced at Ji Chunyue, and then spoke, "The announcement says that for the first batch of franchises, the imperial court is offering a special discount."
"For a milk tea shop franchise, it's 200 taels for the first year. For a breakfast shop, it's 500 taels. This includes training and know-how, but doesn't cover shop rent or staff wages."
"!"
"?!"
"Heavens, and that's just for the first year? They're robbing us!"
Instantly, there was no one left around Zheng Qiru.
The few restaurant apprentices and farmers who were interested earlier had all abandoned the idea of joining the franchise.
Zheng Qiru frowned deeply, glaring at the smiling Chu State gentleman who was covering his mouth.
"Miss is so clever~ Hehe, you exposed the Jing Country imperial court's money-making scheme in one go." Maid Yuan lowered her voice and gave her mistress a thumbs up.
Just as the Ji sisters were about to smile smugly, the waiter came over with two trays.
"Here you go, your salty tofu pudding, sweet soy milk, and dough sticks~"
"And the pancake wrapped dough stick. It's all here, enjoy your meal."
The Ji sisters were about to speak but immediately closed their mouths.
The Ji family rule: no talking while eating or sleeping.
But today, to eat these dough sticks, they had gotten up very early, more than half an hour earlier than their usual breakfast time.
They weren't hungry at the moment, and years of habit left them with little appetite.
"Yuan, you eat more," the elder Ji sister made a gesture, asking the waiter to move their dishes towards the maid.
"Young... master, I'll eat after you finish."
"It's alright, Yuan. You don't need to be so polite with us," the Ji sisters had grown up with the maid since childhood and were as close as sisters. "You know we can't eat much at this time—"
Just as the words "can't eat much" came out, the waiter set down the trays.
A bowl of trembling milky-white soy milk, and tofu pudding that bloomed like a white peony bud in the bowl.
Next to it was a black plate with golden, shiny, soft long strips, which must be the dough sticks.
There was also a stack of pancakes, dotted with emerald green scallions and golden egg liquid spread all over.
Everything looked steaming hot.
Somehow, even though these foods didn't have a strong aroma, just looking at them made the Ji sisters' mouths water uncontrollably.
Especially the elder sister, Ji Xiayue, who first looked at the bowl of soft tofu pudding in front of her, adorned with light red shrimp skin, light brown soy sauce, tender yellow pickled vegetables, and bright green scallions. She couldn't resist and picked up her spoon.
She completely forgot what she had just said about not being able to eat much, and shoved a spoonful into her mouth.
Instantly, it was scalding!
Ji Xiayue held a breath of hot air in her mouth, hissing as her tongue burned with pain, but her eyes widened, unwilling to spit it out.
The salty fragrance mixed with the soft, melt-in-your-mouth silky tofu slid down her throat deliciously the moment it entered her mouth, accompanied by a hint of spiciness that dispelled the early spring chill and the drowsiness from waking up early!
Beside her, maid Yuan thoughtfully used clean chopsticks to divide a whole dough stick into four easy-to-eat sections for them, wrapped them in a cloth, and handed them over.
The aroma of the tofu pudding seemed to have completely awakened Ji Xiayue's appetite. She casually picked up a small piece of youtiao (Chinese fried dough stick) and took a bite.
She had initially thought that such an oily delicacy was only favored by commoners and laborers who lacked oil in their diet. However, with just one bite, her eyes lit up.
This youtiao had an unexpectedly fluffy texture!
It was both soft and chewy. Biting into it felt like stepping on cotton, filling her mouth with a delightful aroma.
The bustling noise of the shop seemed to fade away at that moment.
Ji Xiayue alternated between bites of the fragrant youtiao and spoonfuls of the silky tofu pudding, cycling between softness and chewiness, finding herself unexpectedly delighted.
"Five hundred taels is a bit expensive for the franchise fee..."
"Well, forget it. We don't have the money!"
Five hundred taels wasn't actually that much.
While the poor couldn't afford it, merchants and officials' families certainly could.
For instance, the New Year's money she and her sister received far exceeded this amount.
Ji Xiayue didn't wait for her maid. She wiped her hands with a handkerchief and picked up a jianbing (Chinese pancake) wrapped around a youtiao from another plate. As she took a gentle bite, her eyes immediately lit up.
The soft egg wrap enveloped the chewy youtiao, followed by a spoonful of tofu pudding.
Heavens.
How could such a wonderful combination exist?
Why didn't Chu State have this for breakfast?
"Five hundred taels... Ah, even a single coin can be the death of a hero, let alone five hundred taels. Even if this old man wanted to join the franchise, I couldn't afford it."
"I have five hundred taels!"
A crisp female voice suddenly rang out in the shop.
When Ji Xiayue came to her senses, she realized everyone was staring at her.
Including that pedantic scholar, Zheng Qiru.
Ji Xiayue instantly became aware of her outburst, covering her mouth as her face turned red with embarrassment.
But she still gritted her teeth and said, "You, surnamed Zheng... where do I sign up for the franchise?"
[Oh my, the famous beauties of Chu State want to franchise our Jing Country breakfast shop!?]
Xiao Chuchu, who was nursing in the palace, suddenly broadcasted this thought.
Xiao Yunzhou, who was reviewing official documents, and Liu Chaniang, who was practicing suturing pig skin, were instantly startled.