After breakfast, Cai Wei, accompanied by Huan Qiu and Dad, took a carriage to the restaurant. When they arrived, Mo Liancheng was already waiting there.
Upon seeing Cai Wei, Mo Liancheng hurried over and gave her a deep salute.
Cai Wei laughed and said, "Young Master Mo, you need not be so formal. It has been a while, how is Eldest Lady Mo’s health these days?"
Mo Liancheng said, "Thanks to Miss Mu’s blessings, my mother is much better now and can take care of herself. She has been pushing me to come work for Miss Mu, and so, here I am."
Cai Wei smiled faintly, thinking: This lady is thoughtful and grateful. It appears I have chosen the right person.
"It’s perfect timing for you to come. As it happens, I am about to open a dim sum shop, so you can help me manage it!"
Mo Liancheng was astonished. He hadn’t expected Miss Mu to be promoting him to a shopkeeper. He thought he was here for hard labor!
"What? Are you reluctant?"
Seeing Mo Liancheng’s stunned silence, Cai Wei asked, raising her eyebrows.
Upon hearing Cai Wei’s question, Mo Liancheng took a deep breath, adjusted his attire, and solemnly bowed to Cai Wei: "I will definitely fulfill my mission, manage the shop well, and never let the boss down!"
Cai Wei had faith in him. From the first time she met this young man, he caught her attention. Not only was she attracted to his background and character, but also his virtue and integrity. They all drew Cai Wei in, leading her to greatly respect him and feel assured in entrusting him with significant responsibilities!
After considerable effort, the location for the dessert shop was finally determined—it would be right across from the famous Jufude restaurant in the capital. The site had housed a dim sum shop before, which struggled to compete with Jufude’s outstanding pastries and barely stayed afloat.
However, ever since the Bafu Restaurant’s custard tarts, sandwiches, and other dim sum products came onto the market, Jufude’s dim sum sales plummeted. Forced to reduce their prices, customers looking for cheap dim sum shifted to Jufude when their prices fell. The original dim sum shop’s prices had dropped to an all-time low and could not go any lower; therefore, after barely hanging on for a few days, it finally closed down for good.
The space was small, only one-story high, hence the price was not exorbitant, merely six thousand taels. Cai Wei did not haggle over the price—six thousand as he stated, but proposed to pay in installments—five hundred taels per month, and completed within a year with modest interest.
The original owner of the shop was not in a rush for money. Seeing the high-interest rate offered by Cai Wei, they readily agreed. Both parties signed the contract of sale, exchanged the house deed and land deed, and the deal was done.
Once the documents were signed, Cai Wei began planning the opening of her dim sum shop.
Mo Liancheng took this task to heart. He stayed at the shop all day, cleaning and decorating. He took on every task personally—even the work of the two hired assistants was done by him.
Lady Du specially selected an auspicious day for the opening of the dim sum shop, which was set to be three days later.
During this interval, Cai Wei successfully developed the recipe for honey fried dough twists. The dough twists turned out crispy yet soft, sprinkled with sesame seeds on top, sweet, fragrant, and suitable for all ages.
The fabric store was secretly purchased by Cai Wei too. With no name change or grand reopening, it continued to operate as usual, with business thriving as before. Almost no one knew the ownership of the fabric store had quietly changed hands.
Three days later was the auspicious day that Lady Du had determined.