After the Ghost Festival in July, the prolonged rainy days finally ended, and the summer heat dissipated. Though the sun still felt warm at noon, it was no longer scorching. The sky was a deep blue with scattered white clouds, and autumn breezes began to blow – Chang’an’s pleasant autumn had finally arrived.
When Shen Shaoguang recalled this exceptionally hot summer, she felt somewhat unnerved. Who could have imagined that the high temperatures would cause such citywide chaos, nearly turning a natural disaster into a human catastrophe, even affecting small fry like herself? In comparison, the dampness of the past fortnight, with moldy clothes and moisture seeping through walls, seemed trivial.
Now that it was over, Shen Shaoguang sighed in relief, touching the embroidery on her new autumn clothes. The next two months would be Chang’an’s finest. Once October arrived, morning and evening frosts would bring the cold.
Shen Shaoguang lifted her pine-frost green skirt slightly as she sat down, picking up Mingnü to stroke its fur. The pine-frost green carried autumn’s weightiness, resembling the color she had seen when looking back at the city that afternoon. Her robe was cream-colored, softer than Mingnü’s fur, made in the Hun style with narrow sleeves to avoid being grabbed again by a certain someone.
Thinking of that day, Shen Shaoguang felt somewhat embarrassed, feeling she had let down the progressive women of the 21st century… Perhaps after being here so long, her soul had become more traditionally conservative?
However, that outing wasn’t entirely fruitless. She had tasted fresh boiled beans, delicious steamed pork, village-brewed wine with a kick, and most notably, cold buckwheat noodles.
The buckwheat noodles, rinsed in well water, carried a slight astringency and the fresh aroma of wheat, with good texture, delicious when mixed with sesame paste, clear sauce, vinegar, and garlic – especially refreshing.
Not having seen buckwheat flour at the grain shops in the ward, Shen Shaoguang thought it might be available in the West Market, but she was too lazy to go looking. Instead, she bought a bag of buckwheat from that shopkeeper’s wife.
As a result, these past few days, both the proprietor and customers at Shen’s restaurant frequently saw buckwheat noodles on their tables – cold mixed, hot soup, quick-fried, with gravy, stir-fried, braised, thick and thin, baby-finger sized, cat-ear shaped… all varieties.
Shao Jie was fortunate to experience this abundance. He ate a chopstick full of mixed buckwheat noodles, chewed thoughtfully, ate another portion, and kept nodding at Shen Shaoguang.
He was eating chicken strips with noodles. Since buckwheat noodles were somewhat coarse and astringent, they needed either to be rinsed in cold water for crispness and mixed with seasonings like sesame paste, garlic, and vinegar, or paired with rich, savory meat broth to mask their roughness.
The chicken strip noodles were different. The chicken strips were coated with egg white and starch, then fried in warm oil, stir-fried in lard with silver needle bean sprouts, and finished with a touch of milk soup and thin starch sauce. This method made the chicken extremely tender. Paired with cucumber strips and the chewy, slightly astringent buckwheat noodles, it created a spectacular sensation in the mouth.
Shao Jie finished the last two mouthfuls of buckwheat noodles in his small bowl and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
Shen Shaoguang smiled knowingly and asked, “Did Young Lord Shao find it to his taste?”
“Delicious!” Shao Jie praised, “Only…”
What’s the catch? Shen Shaoguang perked up, ready to hear his feedback.
“Your restaurant’s bowls are too small!”
Shen Shaoguang laughed, and Shao Jie joined in.
Shao Jie wasn’t just flattering her. Coming from a wealthy family, he had never eaten buckwheat noodles before. Though the first bite tasted strange, he became addicted as he continued eating. Unfortunately, the small bowl only held a few mouthfuls.
Shen Shaoguang loved such enthusiasm and said, “Young Lord has already had wine, meat, and vegetables. These buckwheat noodles come last, like the final lingering note when courtesans sing – a proper lingering creates an enchanting aftereffect, but too long becomes redundant.”
Shao Jie clapped and laughed heartily, wondering where the young lady got such clever, apt expressions!
Shen Shaoguang smiled and said, “When autumn grows cooler in a few days, Young Lord can come try lamb with pickled vegetables and buckwheat noodles. Well-seasoned pickled vegetables with chunks of fatty lamb, rich lamb broth, thin buckwheat noodles, topped with fragrant fried cornel sauce… I’ll serve it to Young Lord in the biggest bowl we have!”
Shao Jie laughed, “It’s a promise!”
He then expressed his previous sentiment: “Young Lady should open a large restaurant in the East or West Market. Shen’s has already gained some reputation – I’ve heard people mention it more than once. Now would be the time to ride the wind and waves, go to the East or West Market, and make a name for yourself.”
Having free time that afternoon, Shen Shaoguang sipped her rose tea and explained in detail: “Our best-selling and most profitable dishes aren’t the expensive ones like fish, lamb, and Eight Treasure Duck, nor small dishes like fried orchid beans or mixed coriander bean curd skin, but rather mid-range dishes like Crystal Meat and Lotus Soup. Young Lord can check the detailed accounts at Osmanthus Garden to see if it’s the same there.”
“I’m not saying that luxury items aren’t good, just that we don’t have only that path to follow.”
Business at Shen’s was indeed good, with the waiting benches outside never empty during meal times, but limited by location, space, and clientele, the shop had probably reached its development limit.
Shen Shaoguang was tempted by Shao Jie’s suggestion, but firstly, buying a large restaurant in the East Market would cost considerable money, which she currently lacked, and secondly, grand restaurants had their own way of operating that would need to be learned. To ensure success and profitability, Shen Shaoguang had another idea – find middle to high-end residential wards and open branch stores that completely replicated this one.
Shao Jie frowned and thought for a moment, “Please continue, Young Lady.”
There were actually many small stalls and shops in the East and West Markets, but with limited space and customer capacity, and since the markets only opened at noon and closed seven marks before sunset, they could only serve lunch. Compared to the high land prices and similar investment in labor and effort, the cost-effectiveness was too low.
As a merchant’s son, how could Shao Jie not know this problem? That’s why he had suggested opening a “large restaurant” from the start – one that could accommodate many customers, be luxurious, and make a name for itself.
At this time, people valued “time-honored brands,” and few opened branch stores in the same city. Instead, many dreamed of “proving themselves” in the East and West Markets. Opening a shop there was proof of capability, a dream of many merchants. Limited by the era’s perspective, Shao Jie had initially held the same view, but now hearing Shen Shaoguang’s idea of seeking wards like Chongxian to open identical branches, he suddenly felt enlightened.
The advantages were obvious – Chang’an had 108 wards, and if they selected ten wards to open branches, the profits would far exceed opening a large restaurant in the East or West Market.
“But how can Young Lady ensure all stores maintain the same quality as this one?”
Inconsistent quality across branches was a major problem even for future restaurant enterprises, but people have developed some solutions, such as standardization.
“All stores will use the same menu. We’ll establish procedures and recipes for each dish, and after training, the cooks will strive to achieve uniformity as if a hundred hands were one.”
Shao Jie squinted and smiled, pointing at Shen Shaoguang: “A hundred people – Young Lady’s ambitions are not small!”
Shen Shaoguang’s vision grew even grander: “If it succeeds, we could open stores in Luoyang, Bianzhou, and the Northern Capital – a hundred people might not even be enough!”
Shao Jie laughed heartily – talking with the young lady was truly exhilarating!
But he raised a concern: “However, this way, wouldn’t recipes easily leak and be copied by others?”
“Some items, like sauces, seasonings, preserved foods, and even semi-finished dishes, can be made centrally and delivered daily to each branch,” Shen Shaoguang explained the concept of a central kitchen from the future. However, without cold chain logistics and with less convenient transportation and night curfews of this era, it wouldn’t be as convenient.
“We can also specialize tasks – having dedicated people for cutting vegetables, frying meat, mixing fillings, so even if something leaks, it’s limited.”
Actually, the current system was very conducive to secrecy – most restaurant cooks weren’t hired workers but household servants. In this era where “servants and lowly people are legally equivalent to livestock,” servants who stole from their masters faced severe punishment. Some were even beaten to death without official involvement, and according to the Tang Code, “if masters cause death through punishment or accidental killing, they shall not be held accountable.” So servants risked great danger in betraying their masters.
As they drank tea and chatted, they grew more engaged and compatible. Shao Jie showed good business acumen and offered feasible suggestions. As they talked, a business plan for restaurant branches nearly took shape.
In their discussion, it seemed the only things standing between Shen’s restaurant and citywide expansion were time and money.
Regarding this, Shen Shaoguang wasn’t anxious. She took a sip of rose tea and smiled, “As long as there’s life, there’s money to be made. We’ll earn it gradually.”
Shao Jie laughed again at her words, thought for a moment, then shared his idea: “If my family provides some capital to partner with Young Lady, what would you think?” Shao Jie believed in direct communication, especially in business with friends and partners. Deceiving friends over money meant neither friendship nor partnership could last – was that the way of a true gentleman?
“I see Young Lady’s business will surely be profitable and wish to have a share. However, my family doesn’t have anyone very familiar with running restaurants, so Young Lady should still manage them. We would just provide capital and share in the profits.”
Shen Shaoguang truly admired these ancient people – they had already conceived of shareholding…
She liked Shao Jie’s approach to business and was willing to work with him, but involving large sums of money and long-term cooperation required caution, so she explained her thoughts to him.
Shao Jie smiled, “Even if the Young Lady agreed immediately, I couldn’t provide the money right now. Such matters need to be reported to my grandfather.” At this time, people followed the principle that “while parents live, one has no private wealth,” so partnering in business required the family head’s approval.
Shao Jie sighed: “Young Lady must think I’m wealthy. The other day I saw an excellent antique sword, but even after much deliberation, I couldn’t bring myself to buy it.”
Shen Shaoguang smiled slightly.
Suddenly remembering that the young lady seemed to have lost both parents, Shao Jie realized his words might have been insensitive. Uncharacteristically stammering, he said, “Don’t mind me, I’m used to speaking thoughtlessly.”
This time Shen Shaoguang genuinely laughed – this Young Lord Shao, honest and straightforward yet slightly cunning, was truly endearing!