I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 73 Pre-opening preparations

The group, accompanied by their servants, went directly to the shop on East Street.

The shop was exactly the same as when they saw it last year; nothing had changed.

After arriving at the backyard, Xiao Siyue arranged rooms for everyone.

"Manager Bai, from now on, all these people will be under your management. Don't worry, as long as you do a good job, you won't be disappointed." Xiao Siyue wasn't a stingy person. Although she had bought these people, she would treat them as her own employees.

I just hope I won't disappoint her; what she hates most is betrayal.

"Thank you, Miss. I will do my best." Bai Zhong assured Xiao Siyue, his eyes seemingly regaining their sparkle. He thought that after being sold this time, there was no hope left, but he never expected that he could still become a manager.

While the others were tidying up, Xiao Siyue and the Xiao family elders finally sat down to talk.

“Grandpa, now the shop and staff are all ready. Next, we need to hurry to the blacksmith to make the pots, and the shop also needs to be renovated. I’ve already drawn up the blueprints for these.” Xiao Siyue said, taking out several blueprints from her bag.

“Okay, I’ll take care of it right away,” Old Master Xiao said without hesitation, taking the blueprints and heading out.

Xiao Siyue and Old Lady Xiao, along with the servants they had bought, cleaned the entire shop and its backyard.

I had just sat down when Grandpa Xiao returned.

Grandpa Xiao took the water Xiao Siyue handed him, took a sip, and then said, "Yue'er, I ordered a total of 40 pots. The blacksmith said it would take 20 days to make them."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Siyue did some calculations and concluded that the first floor could accommodate about 30 tables and the second floor would have 8 private rooms, which seemed about right.

"Grandpa, that's enough, that's enough."

"Grandpa, I might have to stay in town for a while to teach them," Xiao Siyue said, explaining her thoughts.

"Then Grandpa and Grandma will stay with you," Grandpa Xiao said hurriedly, as he was worried about leaving his granddaughter there alone.

"Grandpa, no, you have to go back and pick the chilies. Our hot pot restaurant is waiting for them," Xiao Siyue said.

Grandpa Xiao agreed, and finally could only say, "Then let your grandma stay with you."

“Okay, Grandpa, why don’t you go back and find some people in the village to help with the harvest? There are quite a lot of chilies, so you can pay them some wages.” Xiao Siyue suggested. They had planted 5 mu of chilies, and besides, there wasn’t much anyone in the family who could help.

"Yes, Grandpa understands." Grandpa Xiao also had this idea; he wanted to finish harvesting the chilies as soon as possible so he could come to the shop to spend time with his granddaughter.

In the days that followed, Xiao Siyue was busy teaching the two chefs how to prepare hot pot while also overseeing the shop's renovations.

Two weeks later, the entire shop was completely transformed.

-

That day, while Xiao Siyue was training several employees, she met a very unexpected person, Li Han.

"Li Han, what brings you here?" Xiao Siyue asked curiously.

“Miss Xiao, my family specifically asked me to come and take a look at the seeds,” Li Han said, glancing at the people around him.

Xiao Siyue suddenly realized what Li Han meant.

"Grandma, you stay here for a bit. Li Han and I are going back to Xiao Family Village." Xiao Siyue said to Old Lady Xiao, who was still observing Li Han from the side.

"Alright, then go ahead." Old Mrs. Xiao knew Li Han; Xiao Siyue had told her about him before, so she felt at ease letting Xiao Siyue go with her.

Li Han rode his horse and carried Xiao Siyue back to the Xiao family in less than fifteen minutes.

Xiao Siyue didn't delay and took Li Han directly to the cellar.

“These are potatoes,” Xiao Siyue said to Li Han, pointing to the potatoes in the cellar.

This was the first time Li Han had ever seen it, and he was quite stunned.

"Miss Xiao, is this a potato? It's huge!" Li Han couldn't help but pick one up and examine it closely, her eyes filled with amazement and joy.

"Yes."

Xiao Siyue told Li Han about the various ways to eat potatoes.

Li Han exclaimed, "These potatoes are really a wonderful thing!"

"Are these all the seeds?" Although Li Han was curious about what potatoes tasted like and really wanted to try them, he didn't forget his mission.

“Yes, there are a total of over 2,400 jin here, which is the yield of half a mu of land,” Xiao Siyue explained.

Although I already knew, I was still stunned by the high yield. I didn't quite believe it before, but when I saw that each potato weighed one or two pounds, I was certain.

"Miss Xiao, the master said that if possible, I could take a few pounds back with me, is that alright?" Li Han said, cupping his fists to Xiao Siyue.

“Of course,” Xiao Siyue said, taking several potatoes, packing them up, and giving them to Li Han.

"Thank you, Miss Xiao,"

After bidding farewell to Xiao Siyue, Li Han turned around, mounted his horse, and galloped away.

After Li Han left, Xiao Siyue thought that since she was back, she should go and check on how the chili harvest was going. She turned and walked towards the field.

From afar, you could see that the chili peppers were almost completely harvested. Only a small patch remained in the field.

“Grandpa,” Xiao Siyue walked towards Grandpa Xiao.

"Why is Yue'er back?" Grandpa Xiao asked, still somewhat puzzled when he saw his granddaughter.

Xiao Siyue recounted the whole story, and only then did Grandpa Xiao understand.

"Grandpa will take you to town later. There are only a few chilies left; the rest are already drying. Your second uncle can watch over them." Grandpa Xiao thought that he didn't need to do anything for now.

"Okay, thank you, Grandpa."

Another half month passed, and the entire shop was completely renovated.

All the copper pots that were made have been placed on the table.

All the chili peppers at home have been harvested, and the chefs and others at the shop have all been trained. Xiao Siyue has already tasted it. Although the hot pot made by the two chefs can't compare to modern ones, it's not far off. The main problem is that the seasonings are not complete.

Xiao Siyue felt that opening a shop was more than enough, especially in ancient times when there was no hot pot, it was definitely a delicacy.

Xiao Siyue plans to invite her family to try the food before opening the store.

On this day, the entire Xiao family gathered at the hot pot restaurant.

"Yue'er." Aunt Lin and her husband walked in from outside with their two cousins.

"Auntie, you've arrived." Xiao Siyue greeted them warmly.

"Yes, Yue'er, is there anything I can help you with?" Aunt Lin asked Xiao Siyue politely.

"No need, Aunt, you can go directly to the private room on the second floor." Seeing that almost all of her family members had arrived, Xiao Siyue instructed the kitchen to start serving the dishes.

"This is a hot pot! It's so warm!" My cousin Qian Jun from my aunt's family was so excited that he wanted to reach out and touch it.

Xiao Siyue quickly stopped her: "No, there's fire inside, be careful not to get burned."

Qian Jun was so frightened that he quickly withdrew his hand.

"There's a fire inside, no wonder it's so hot."

"Everyone, let's eat! Don't just sit there," Xiao Siyue said after seeing that all the dishes had been served.

However, apart from the Xiao family, everyone else looked at each other in bewilderment. How were they supposed to eat all this raw food?

"Yue'er, why are they all newborns?" It was Lin's aunt who spoke.

“Auntie, look at my grandpa.” Xiao Siyue pointed to Grandpa Xiao, who had already started eating.

"Just cook whatever dishes you want, then dip them in the sauce, and you're good to go," Xiao Siyue said.

Everyone started to follow the steps of the Xiao family and started eating hot pot.

"My God, this is such a delicacy! It's so delicious!" Qian Jun was sweating profusely as he ate, wiping his brow as he stuffed food into his mouth.

"Cousin, if it's spicy, you can have a bite of tofu pudding." Xiao Siyue handed a bowl to Qian Jun.

"Hmm, it tastes good, but why is it iced?" Qian Jun picked up the bowl and looked at it for a long time but couldn't find anything special.

"Cousin, the brown sugar water inside is chilled." Xiao Siyue had specially made some ice cubes to make chilled drinks.

Everyone else who heard this took a bite and praised it highly.