Li Ying fed the female eagle two pieces of beef that was about 70% dried in the sun. Then she gently stroked its soft feathers, lost in thought.
Lu Xunguang said in a low voice, "A Ying, my men have investigated. The person mentioned in Old Master Yan's letter, who is good at imitating handwriting, is now hiding his identity and working as a dowry servant in the residence of the Tea Tax Censor. The lady he accompanied as a dowry is the daughter of the Salt Tax Censor who once intended to recruit Master Ge as a son - in - law."
Li Ying knew what he meant. He was asking if they should use some means to draw this person out.
But she just gave a calm smile.
"Since that's the case, there's no need for us to be in a hurry."
After the old tea master passed away, Master Ge was completely disheartened and rarely concerned about worldly affairs. The signboard of his tea house had disappeared for many years.
However, now that they knew there were hidden secrets behind what happened back then, Master Ge and Aunt Lan had reconciled, and they had reached a cooperation agreement with Li's. The news in the capital was extremely well - informed. In just a few days, the news that the Ge Family's tea house was making a comeback would spread throughout the capital.
If the Salt Tax Censor and the Tea Tax Censor had a guilty conscience about what happened back then, they would probably not be able to hold back their impatience and would come to them on their own initiative.
It was the best strategy to remain still when the enemy was inactive and to respond to all changes with unchanging principles.
Once Li Ying had made up her mind, Lu Xunguang didn't say much more. He would follow her plan.
Over the years, Master Ge had taken in quite a few disciples. Now, when he called out, they all responded.
These disciples had been in the tea - making business for many years. Their skills were already very proficient, and their characters were trustworthy.
With just a little guidance, they could immediately start frying the Coast Tea. The tea gifts that Lord Xu planned to give to his colleagues were finally prepared on schedule.
Besides being sold in the Lu's Tea House, the bamboo - sealed tea was also used for entertaining guests in Li's Restaurant.
Most of the people who came to drink tea were literati and refined scholars. They had some knowledge of the art of tea - tasting. After just a sip, they could tell that this tea was genuine and worth the price. They also had less contempt and more admiration for "Boss Li", this honest and down - to - earth businesswoman.
True to Li Ying's prediction, the news spread from person to person. Even the common people who knew nothing about tea became curious.
They would order a pot of Coast Tea and a table of Shaowei Banquet that ordinary people could enjoy. All the aquatic ingredients used in the banquet were freshly transported from the fishing village at full speed. With the powerful preservation function of Li Ying's space, every dish was vivid and fragrant, as if they had just been caught from the sea in the early morning.
After watching the Hu Xuan Dance choreographed by A Man, they could order a pot of Golden Flower Dark Tea after the meal to aid digestion and strengthen the spleen. They would feel extremely comfortable all over!
Ruyi was younger, nimble - footed, and very intelligent. She made sure that every customer felt at home. For a while, coming to Li's Restaurant became an extremely elegant thing that everyone vied to praise.
"Sister Ying, this is the monthly account book of the restaurant. I've recorded all the accounts according to the Arabic numeral method you taught me. Please take a look."
Ruyi held the account book. Li Ying saw the detailed records of procurement expenses and surplus settlements on it. Everything was clear at a glance. She was secretly glad that keeping Ruyi was really a good idea.
"Sister Ying, there's another thing. When I saw the guests off today, I heard them say that the taste of our Golden Flower Dark Tea is really good, but it's really inconvenient to drink this tea brick. It's okay when entertaining guests at home, but when traveling, if you want to drink tea, you have to bring a tea knife and a tea pick. If the tea brick is tightly compressed, it's very difficult to pry off the tea leaves, and a lot of tea dregs will fall off. It's really not nice. Sister, should we adjust the shape of the Golden Flower Dark Tea?"
Li Ying admired her for her detailed observation.
However, the Golden Flower Dark Tea could only be compressed into tea bricks, which was convenient for the horse caravan to transport from Xikang to the capital via the Ancient Tea - Horse Road. The unique golden flowers could only ferment in the tea bricks, so the shape really couldn't be changed.
She just thought for a moment and came up with a solution.
Why couldn't the Golden Flower Dark Tea be made into small bamboo - canned tea?
It was just an additional process of prying open the tea bricks manually and repackaging them into small portions.
"Sister, I've also thought of this method. But if we do this, we'll need to add some extra manpower. Our dark tea is already difficult to transport and has a very high cost. With an additional labor cost, if we continue to sell it at the original price, our profit will be damaged. If we raise the price, the guests may not agree, and it may even damage our reputation of being genuine and honest."
Lu Xunguang didn't take Ruyi's words seriously. He just said to Li Ying confidently, "A Ying, if you're short of manpower, just let me know. You can order anyone from the Lu Family. You don't need to worry about the wages."
Li Ying smiled and said, "Isn't your cost also my cost?"
She just thought for a moment and came up with an idea.
"Raise the price a little. Also, release a new advertisement saying that our bamboo - sealed tea will start the 'Swallow Return - to - Nest Plan' from next month."
As soon as she said this, both of them looked at her in confusion, waiting for Li Ying to explain.
Li Ying didn't keep them in suspense. She smiled and began to explain calmly.
"The so - called 'Swallow Return - to - Nest Plan' is actually the recycling of tea cans."
Five days a month would be set aside to open a limited - time "Swallow Return - to - Nest" corner in the tea house. All customers who had bought the bamboo - sealed tea could bring their cleaned bamboo tea cans back to the tea house. The clerks would recycle them uniformly and accumulate "Tea - drinking Points" for the customers.
Customized peripheral products would be given out for free on - site as gifts to thank the customers for participating in the "Swallow Return - to - Nest Plan". At the same time, an "Online Mall" for ordering tea would be launched. The accumulated points could be redeemed for fresh tea, tea snacks, tea sets, and vouchers, which would be shipped for free together with the ordered tea and would be delivered on the same day within the capital.
In this way, customers would think that although the bamboo - canned tea was a little more expensive, they could get points after recycling the cans, and it would be more convenient to drink tea. So they naturally wouldn't think the price was too high.
The recycled tea cans could be reused after being uniformly processed to make small items such as co - branded bamboo pen holders and bamboo cups. Those that were dirty and couldn't be reused could be burned into bamboo charcoal to improve the saline - alkaline land near the fishing village or used as bedding for the Wenchang chickens' free - range activity area. In this way, everything was put to good use.
Ruyi listened to Li Ying's detailed and gentle explanation. She was stunned and sincerely convinced.
"Sister Ying, I'm afraid I'll never be able to learn your intelligence in my whole life!"
Li Ying smiled. She turned to look at Lu Xunguang and asked softly, "What do you think, Lu Lang?"
Lu Xunguang looked at her deeply. His eyes were full of undisguised admiration and pride.
"A Ying, we'll just follow your plan."