Xiao Qiao enters the farm gate

Qiao Mo also heard the commotion, and besides the crowds of people on the street outside, they all went to the lively place.Qiao Mo originally wanted to see who the mysterious owner was, so he also stood outside the door to look around.

The restaurant has been merged and renovated, with three fronts, upper and lower floors, newly painted and carved, giving it a completely new look.At this moment, the doors of the three rooms were opened, and a plaque covered with a red cloth was hung on the door in the middle, and the guests who came to congratulate and the diners and pedestrians who watched the excitement were all around, and standing in the middle of the door was Shopkeeper Lu.

Shopkeeper Lu was in his forties, and he was used to being a stranger with a three-point smile. At this time, he smiled very respectfully at a man in a purple round-neck robe beside him.

Qiao Mo took a closer look, this man looked less than forty, his clothes were exquisite and luxurious, and he always smiled when he spoke, he seemed very friendly.But seeing the shopkeeper Lu's attitude towards him, and hearing the guests calling him "Second Master", he guessed that the other party should be the real owner of the restaurant.I only heard that the auspicious time had come, Lord Xuan personally pulled down the red cloth, and the name of the restaurant was revealed, and the letter was written - Juxianlou.

"King Kangjun?!" He Yun, who came out after him, was surprised at this moment.

"What? The king of the county?" Qiao Mo almost thought he had heard it wrong, but after careful observation again, the second master's words and deeds were indeed extraordinary. If he was just a wealthy businessman or a family, he always felt that he was lacking.

He Yun suppressed his doubts for a while, and said: "It is indeed the king of Kang County. Although we usually only guard the Qi mansion and rarely go out, the old king and the old man in our mansion have a good relationship. We have seen each other when King Kang came to the mansion, so we naturally recognize him. The name of King Kang is Situxuan, and he usually likes to travel around in ordinary clothes, and also likes to make friends with people, so he uses them conveniently It's the name 'Second Lord'."

Qiao Mo felt something was wrong: "How can the county king leave the capital at will?"

He Yun explained: "Just now I also said that the king of this county loves to wander around the town, and hates to be on the job, and he has tossed hard about it in the past, and then asked the late emperor's order to leave Beijing and travel around the world. Although it is better now than in the early years, but I don't want to stay in one place, but I didn't expect the county king to come here."

Exactly, this Fengcheng is not a treasured place of geomantic omen, what kind of business does a decent county king run here.

After watching the excitement for a while, Qiao Mo stopped being curious.

The business of Juxianlou was very prosperous that day, and Qiao Mo's shop also benefited a lot. The sales of the newly-launched orange-flavored candies were very good.At present, Qiao Mo is planning to make a new candy, toffee. One of the ingredients needed is whipped cream, which is a little more troublesome.Qiao Mo plans to put this candy on the market at the end of the year and make a gift box. It will definitely sell well. Of course, the name needs to be changed.

Now that the weather is getting colder, Qiao Mo usually stays in the city for three or two days, so as not to travel around in the morning and evening.After November, until next spring, it will be inconvenient for me to come to the city to look at shops again. There are many things to prepare in advance.

First of all, you need a substitute shopkeeper.

Li Liang and the others are good at selling things, but after all, they have no experience in managing a shop and lack a certain amount of courage. In the past, he would come over every two or three days to check it out, but now he can't.The candidate he thought of was Shen Feng.One is an acquaintance with a trustworthy character, experience and ability.Secondly, now Shen Feng is mainly writing serials for Song Han's newspapers, so he is definitely willing to work part-time to earn extra money.Even if Shen Feng didn't say it clearly, but there were some clues in his words, Qiao Mo knew that his family was in a difficult situation and was very short of money.

If the business is good during the Chinese New Year, you can use the small amount of money to recruit as a promoter.

As Qiao Mo thought about it, he wrote down each item on the paper so as not to forget it.

In the evening, someone knocked on the back door of the small courtyard, Zhang Xia went to open the door, and it was Song Han who came.

Wrapped in an emerald green cloak, Song Han hurried in with a smile on his face, pulled Qiao Mo and said, "Qiao Mo, guess how many newspapers were sold today?"

Seeing that he was so happy, Qiao Mo couldn't help but also smiled: "Well... about a thousand?"

Song Han laughed, and the bamboo tube crackled like beans and said: "Where is it? I thought that not many people would know about it on the first day, but only [-] copies of the first edition were printed, and ten people were hired. Selling. The sale was really slow in the first half of the day. I was very nervous. I didn’t know that there were more people buying suddenly from noon, and the [-] copies were gone soon. Many people ran into the shop and asked questions. When will the next issue be published? It is more to urge us to reprint. I consulted my elder brother and added an additional edition of [-] copies. After an hour, I added another edition of [-] copies. By the time I came, it was almost Sold out."

"Congratulations." Qiao Mo didn't expect it to be so popular. He thought it would be good if he sold a thousand copies.

Thinking about it, it is also reasonable, what kind of family status is the Song family?They also have Luming Academy.Students from large and small academies in the city, arty scholars, including those who are curious about novelty, will all buy a copy. For books, ten cents for a newspaper is already very cheap.Of course, this is not as cheap as the newspapers of later generations, but now it has just begun, and the coverage is not enough. Considering the cost and the world situation, this is already considered cheap.

Song Han seemed very excited at the moment. After all, it was the first time he did business and achieved great success. When he was at home, his father and elder brother praised him for his good life and allowed him to go out. How could he not be excited?

"Qiao Mo, I really didn't expect so many people to buy it. Would you like me to expand the scale? I want to print thousands of copies of today's issue and distribute it to different cities. What do you think?" Song Han Although he was asking, his eyes were firm and shining, apparently he had made up his mind.

"I don't think there is a rush to expand. First, we should search for talents and secure them all."

"What do you mean?" Song Han didn't quite understand.

"Once your business is good, there will be followers within a few days. When competition comes, it will definitely have an impact on your newspaper. How to stabilize customers and grow in the future is the key to having people who write stories. For example, Shen Feng, he is very talented and good at writing such things. You can sign a long-term contract with him, such as how many words to write in a year, adjustments or rewards for manuscript remuneration, and for example, you cannot accept other newspaper business during this period, etc. .” Qiao Mo felt that Song Han was overwhelmed by today’s sudden success, but the Song family would definitely think too much, and the reason why Qiao Mo reminded him was also his duty as a friend.

After hearing what he said, Song Han gradually calmed down, and also found that the foundation is not stable now, and there are many problems.

"You're right, I'm too impatient." Song Han smiled a little embarrassedly.

Song Han calmed down and asked him for advice humbly.Although Qiao Mo didn't understand, after all, later generations read a lot, so he told him what came to mind, and the two of them sorted it out and discussed it, and finally came up with a signed contract. Depending on who signed it, some clauses would be slightly adjusted. That's it.

Song Han was very excited about starting a business, but couldn't sit still after finishing the contract, and left immediately.

Qiao Mo only heard him tell the coachman that he was going to Chunzhi Hutong, and he vaguely remembered that Shen Feng's house was there, probably to find Shen Feng to sign a contract.When they asked Shen Feng to write a book before, they only talked about the remuneration for this book. Now that Song Han has a sense of crisis, he is afraid that others will find out about Shen Feng and poach him away, so naturally he must hurry up and plan ahead.

It was dusk at this time, and the aroma of food came from the small kitchen.

Qiao Mo thought of Lin Zheng, and now he didn't know what happened to Lin Zheng.The weather turns cold after winter, and the vegetation in the north has been bleak since September, and the temperature has dropped sharply. I'm afraid it has already snowed.Ten days ago, I received a letter stating that Lin Zheng had already arrived in Jincheng, and now he must have entered the Northland, even in such a cold weather...

"My lord, King Kangjun is here." He Yun suddenly reported.

Qiao Mo was taken aback for a moment, and turned around to see that the person had lifted the curtain and came to the backyard.

Before Qiao Mo could think about how to greet him, Situ Xuan smiled and said, "You are Qiao Mo? It's quite similar to your Ah Mo when you were young. This Qi Yun is also unkind, and he has found his nephew." I don’t even place wine to treat guests, I didn’t know until now.”

Qiao Mo didn't know how to answer, so he just smiled and invited the other party into the room for tea.

The only room that can be used to entertain guests is the room they usually live in, and the space is limited.Entering the door is a round table with a set of tea sets. There is a long cabinet against the wall, and two bamboo gadgets are placed in the grid above.Going to the left through a hanging coarse cloth curtain is the inner room. There is only a simple bed, a long desk, two large wooden boxes and a cabinet.

Qiao Mo invited people to drink tea in this small outside room, of course, but it was only two or three flats, unexpectedly, Situ Xuan didn't mind.

"Sit down too, our two families are considered family friends, and you are also considered my junior, so don't be too restrained." Situ Xuan said.

"Thank you, Prince." Qiao Mo sat down on the stool opposite.

The room is already small, and it would be crowded if the attendants were added, so He Yunheyu and a guard brought by the king of the county were outside the door, and only one came in, standing silently behind the king of Kang. .Zhang Xia came in to serve tea, and finally withdrew.

Situ Xuan picked up the tea and took a sip, frowned slightly, then put it down.Then he took out something from his bosom, and pushed it towards Qiao Mo: "I didn't know you were here when I came here, and I didn't prepare any good things. This jade pendant was awarded by the emperor a while ago. I gave it to you. It's right as a meeting gift." .”

"How can I accept such a valuable thing? Thank you for the kindness of the king of the county." The so-called no reward for no merit, let alone such things, the relationship between King Kang and the Qi family has nothing to do with him, let alone listen to He Yun Speaking of which, the movement between the two has faded away.

"Any valuable thing, if it is not rewarded by the emperor, is nothing more than a piece of jade. Besides, the elder should not refuse the gift, so you just keep it." Situ Xuan smiled kindly, but his words were very strong.

Qiao Mo was afraid that he would make the other party unhappy if he refused again. Moreover, a piece of jade pendant was probably nothing to the county king, so he accepted it as a thank you.

Seeing him like this, Situ Xuan seemed very happy: "I just heard that there are people here who can make all kinds of interesting things with bamboo, but after a search, I found out your identity, which is really a surprise. Are you interested in cooperating? Don't worry, my uncle will never take advantage of you, and you can do whatever you want in business."

"Bamboo weaving business? Doesn't the county king run a restaurant?" Qiao Mo didn't take the title of Uncle Shi to heart.

Situ Xuan smiled and said: "The restaurant is just for fun. I am afraid that I am not used to food when I came here, so I brought the cook with me. I also wanted to search for delicious food, so I opened this restaurant by chance. If there is a friend It’s good to entertain you when you visit.”

... Open a restaurant for fun?

That's right, for a county king, doing business is just playing.

It's just that Qiao Mo didn't agree to the cooperative business, because he really had a lot of doubts and even concerns in his heart.