Chapter 1677: 026, New Pastries (Second Update)
Su Zhe’s words at the General Mansion remain unknown, but the outco he received was clear enough.
One could tell just by his darkened expression upon leaving; Xia Zheng definitely did not give him a satisfactory answer.
These days, the General Mansion has been the most closely watched place in the Capital City, with countless eyes fixed intently on it. Su Zhe’s sudden visit imdiately brought to mind Su Qiuyu’s relentless, unrequited love for Xia Zheng.
Yet within a single night, the news of Su Zhe’s actions at the General Mansion swiftly beca the subject of wild speculation throughout the Capital City.
So said he was there to plead for Su Qiuyu to be granted the position of co-wife, while others claid he was using his authority as Pri Minister to pressure Xia Zheng into re-marrying Su Qiuyu. Whatever was said, one thing was certain—the outco was nothing but humiliation for Su Zhe.
When Lin Yuan heard the rumors outside, she was at the Idle Tea House listening to Madam Ming talk about the recent business happenings at the establishnt.
At first, she hadn’t thought much of it, but upon hearing more, she was genuinely surprised.
The tea ceremony, which she had taken such pride in, hadn’t beco the new favorite pasti of the Capital city’s cultured elite like she had envisioned.
On the contrary, it was two stories she had casually co up with that caused quite a commotion in the Capital City.
The story of “Journey to the West” was lively and original. Although the tale had only reached the part where Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in Heaven, story ti at Idle Tea House had been packed to capacity every ti.
The first-floor main hall couldn’t et the demands of the crowd, and even the elegant rooms on the second floor, along with the corridors, were brimming with people—all enthralled by the thrilling tale.
As for the love story-focused “Dream of the Red Chamber,” while its popularity didn’t quite match “Journey to the West,” it had nevertheless stirred up quite a fervor among the wonfolk of the Capital City.
The frail and lonely Lin Daiyu had finally entered Jia Mansion, remaining cautious and reserved day after day. When she encountered Jia Baoyu, countless won hoped for a tender and poignant romance to blossom between the two.
Of course, such hopes often turned out to be futile. When Lin Yuan first read “Dream of the Red Chamber,” she herself had held onto such hopes, but by the end, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointnt.
She vividly rembered the scene where Jia Baoyu inexplicably married Xue Baochai, and Lin Daiyu tragically passed away—she had cried for an entire night, leaving her eyes red and swollen like waterlogged radishes.
Listening to Madam Ming subtly probe her about Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu’s future developnts, Lin Yuan couldn’t help but find the situation amusing. She had assud the tale was solely ant to entertain unmarried young ladies, but who would’ve thought even Madam Ming, married and with children, would be so thoroughly enchanted by it?
Shaking her head, Lin Yuan simply gave Madam Ming one sentence: “The secrets of heaven cannot be divulged.”
Madam Ming pursed her lips in disappointnt, quickly shifting the topic to more pressing matters.
“Boss, these two stories are indeed excellent. However, the tea ceremony is still one of our establishnt’s defining features—it would truly be a sha to let it fade into obscurity.”
She was right, and naturally Lin Yuan had been thinking about this too.
Back when Idle Tea House was first opening, her biggest innovation was the tea ceremony. Who could have foreseen that the tea ceremony would pale in comparison to two re stories?
Nonetheless, while the tea ceremony might not match the allure of “Journey to the West” and “Dream of the Red Chamber,” its status in the Capital City wasn’t negligible either.
She scratched her head; she’d never encountered such a situation before.
She could, at best, be considered a chef. Running a restaurant fell within her area of expertise, but running a tea house was truly uncharted territory for her.
She had thought that her cleverness alone could make Idle Tea House flourish, but now it seed that creativity wasn’t always failproof.
“So, Madam, in your view, how should the tea ceremony be improved to retain our custors more effectively?”
Lin Yuan’s instincts told her Madam Ming wasn’t bringing up this topic on a whim—she might already have a solution at hand.
Sure enough, Madam Ming smiled slightly before saying, “Boss, right now we hold story sessions in the morning, which leads to a significant decrease in custors during the afternoon. As for those who are specifically drawn to the tea ceremony, their numbers are very few indeed.”
Her smile turned mysterious as she continued, “That’s why I was thinking, why not weave the tea ceremony with elents of ‘Journey to the West’ and ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’? How do you feel about this idea?”
Integrating the tea ceremony with the stories?
How would that work?
Lin Yuan furrowed her delicate brows, signaling for Madam Ming to elaborate further.
“Boss, I’ve often heard Shui Ling and Da Ye recounting the stories during my leisure ti. Their storytelling is highly captivating. However, I’ve also noticed sothing interesting—each story ntions various nas of delicious dishes, yet the audience seldom pays them any attention; their focus is entirely on the plot!”
Nas of dishes?
Lin Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and clapped her hands in delight. “Madam, your insight is truly remarkable!”
Seeing the aningful smile on Madam Ming’s face, Lin Yuan’s eyes sparkled even brighter.
Indeed, every instance in “Journey to the West” and “Dream of the Red Chamber” featured intriguing food references: items like Monk Tangseng’s at or Beauty Nourishing Soup. Especially in “Dream of the Red Chamber,” the most morable scene for Lin Yuan was Xue Baochai consuming that complex herbal redy—it was described with such ticulous detail involving spring flowers and autumn dew, almost impossibly intricate.
If a single dicine could be so complicated, one could only imagine how intricate their foods must be.
Furthermore, the literary beauties in the book often competed in poetry, which ant there were likely plenty of elegant and lodic nas—nas that Lin Yuan could easily leverage to create connections to her own unique recipes.
Running a tea house might be unfamiliar territory for her, but when it ca to food, she was certainly in her elent!
“That’s it! Since we’re a tea house, let’s turn the desserts from the stories into tea snacks. As for those exquisite, evocative dish nas, we can reserve them for Dong Tian!”
Lin Yuan’s mind was already racing ahead. When it ca to quick thinking and creative problem-solving, few could rival her!
Madam Ming nodded in agreent as well, saying, “Beyond that, we shouldn’t unveil all the treat and dish nas at once. I suggest we start by preparing those sweets and recipes specifically ntioned in the stories we’ve told so far. That way, whatever appears in the morning’s tales, we can serve it fresh in the afternoon.”
This was an excellent idea; capitalizing on the guests’ curiosity was sure to bring in more patrons eager to try the newest offerings.
And as for Dong Tian, she could absolutely curate a special nu inspired by the dishes described in “Dream of the Red Chamber,” establishing an entire series as Dong Tian’s new signature course. Surely, this would spark yet another frenzy!
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