lcionline Chapter 228 Chain Stores
Chapter 228 Chain Stores
Uncle John's dessert cart was parked under the tree outside the room assigned to them, pulled by two tall, strong horses.
This dessert cart looks like a small house, with a tent on top. It's parked there in a spacious manner, and one of the windows is wide open, allowing you to see a busy figure inside.
"Katie, the lord and the general are here, come out and say hello!" Uncle John called out, then turned to Jiang Yu and introduced with a smile, "This is my daughter Katie. She has been learning my cooking skills and now she cooks very well."
A pretty young woman dressed in a light gray dress, wearing a white apron and headscarf, stepped off the car in a hurry and bowed to Jiang Yu and Lin Yi before she could even stand properly.
She was very young and looked like she wasn't even an adult yet.
"How reckless! What kind of behavior is this?" Uncle John scolded, but his tone was gentle, and his eyes were full of love as he looked at his daughter.
Katie playfully stuck out her tongue, then blushed shyly when she saw the lord's smiling eyes and stunningly beautiful face.
"What a capable girl," Jiang Yu said admiringly.
At this moment, a woman hurriedly came out of the room. She was wearing a dark green cotton dress, her hair was neatly tied up, and she was wearing an apron and sleeves. In her haste, she also adjusted the hem of her dress.
"Greetings, Lord Jiangyu, and Young General Lin Yi." The woman smiled gently and bowed, then stood beside her daughter.
“My lord, my general, this is my wife, Catherine,” John quickly introduced.
“I’ve always known that Mr. John has a very skillful wife who makes all sorts of exquisite ribbons and knots. It’s great to finally meet her,” Jiang Yuping said in a friendly and approachable manner.
Uncle John's dessert cart was also equipped with several tables and chairs. He quickly set them up, invited Jiang Yu and the others to sit down, and took out his newly made desserts for them to try.
The small pastries are exquisite and cute, and a lot of effort has obviously been put into their appearance. They are even decorated with tiny flowers and a transparent little bell.
Jiang Yu curiously poked at it with her fork, and Uncle John explained, "This is carved from saccharin that we make ourselves. The saccharin outside isn't very transparent, only the saccharin we make ourselves is so clear and beautiful. It's a bit sweet though, so you have to eat it with some desserts."
No wonder he was once a royal chef; his ingenuity and skill are both top-notch.
Uncle John and his family left a very deep impression on Jiang Yu, and at Jiang Yu's invitation, he was also very interested in the proposal to open a shop in Hollandpool.
After saying goodbye to them, Jiang Yu listened to Lin Yi talk about the secrets of Uncle John.
Uncle John was a handsome man in his youth, and he became the royal chef of the capital at a young age. He was the chief pastry chef in the palace, and he was also honest and quick-witted. Many women from minor noble families were willing to take him as their partner.
He and a young lady exchanged feelings, but his information was not displayed at the partner selection event.
The one who interfered was actually Lady Tiny, who had many lovers and had taken a liking to this young royal chef, wanting to take him as her lover. Naturally, she tried every means to sabotage his marriage.
She would use the opportunity of discussing the dessert menu to curry favor with him, only to realize with a start that it was all the First Lady's doing.
John, born a commoner, was already quite successful at a young age to become the royal chef in the palace. Of course, he wanted to have his own marriage openly and honestly, and did not want to be a mistress in the shadows. So, he was so annoyed that he finally submitted his resignation.
Mrs. Cortini, still in the throes of passion and not yet having succeeded, was not about to let him go.
He was almost in despair and about to give in when another person appeared and attracted Lady Tinie's attention—a young knight from the Norlin family.
The knight was different from him; he deliberately attracted Lady Tinie's attention. Fallen nobles who wanted to rise in the ranks inevitably resorted to crooked means.
This gave him a chance to catch his breath. A young, strong knight who knew how to sweet-talk was much more likable than a stern and clueless cook.
While Lady Tini was deeply in love with her new lover, he seized the opportunity to resign from his position as royal chef and, with the help of relatives, quietly left the capital and came to a remote border town.
Unexpectedly, this place turned out to be his lucky spot. He not only met his current wife and got married smoothly, but also had a capable and intelligent daughter.
Although the royal family was fickle and no one came to cause trouble for him afterward, he still kept a low profile for many years, hiding his extraordinary skills and running a small shop for decades.
“I should find a chance to tell Uncle John that Mrs. Tiny and Norlin are dead. He should be very happy.” Lin Yi took Jiang Yu’s hand and casually picked a rose and handed it to her.
"Let's wait until this period passes." Jiang Yu was very cautious. Unless absolutely necessary, the turmoil in the royal city should not affect their small border town.
"However, he has been cautious for so many years, perhaps our attitude can put his mind at ease. It seems that he is still very interested in opening chain stores." Jiang Yu was in a great mood.
"Chain store? What does that mean?" Lin Yi, a native, had never heard of this term before.
"For example, Uncle John's original store was his own shop, but because the food was so delicious, it had a great reputation among customers and became a brand. Because there was market demand, he opened a store in Hollande, and may open one in Theslow later."
"When the same brand opens branches in different places, it's called a chain store. As the number of stores gradually increases, Uncle John and his family can't manage them all, so they hire employees to help them run the business. This creates more job opportunities, and the spare labor force can increase the family's income."
Jiang Yu patiently explained, and seeing Lin Yi's eyes growing brighter, she smiled and said, "That's why I mentioned to you before that I wanted to try some reforms in trade, and this is one of them."
"That's fantastic! Xiaoyu, that's really fantastic! Everyone is sticking to their own shops and has never thought of leaving their hometown to expand their businesses elsewhere. They also don't feel comfortable entrusting their businesses to others!" Lin Yi picked out a smaller pink rose and tucked it behind Jiang Yu's ear.
A beauty as lovely as a flower, seen only from beyond the clouds.
"My Xiaoyu is simply a genius!"
Jiang Yu smiled awkwardly. This was just the simplest form of modern business; she had simply taken advantage of the information gap and used it directly.
Moreover, the underdeveloped commerce here is directly related to low productivity and inconvenient transportation, and the scarcity of women and the decreasing number of children are also root causes.
It's common knowledge that women's and children's money is the easiest to earn. Men's needs are generally less; many men use what they have and don't use what they don't, let alone compare the differences between similar products.
There are fewer and fewer women, and the population is decreasing.
Jiang Yu lowered her gaze. The right to procreate was in the hands of the empire; what was the purpose of such a decision? Surely it wasn't a decision to lead them all to destruction?
That's not something she can worry about. She just needs to manage her own little plot of land and see if she can revitalize the commercial economy of Hollandpur and the surrounding area.