The Rise of a General's Daughter-in-Law Doctor

Li Muxia arrived at the office door and knocked. Inside, Manager Wang was writing something at his desk. Hearing the knock, he didn't even look up and said, "Come in."

Li Muxia pushed the door open and came in. Manager Wang, assuming it was a waiter, continued writing something and asked without looking up, "What is it?"

Looking at Manager Wang like this, Li Muxia felt a little guilty for entrusting all the work to him and making his life so busy. She asked, "Uncle Wang, has the shop been quite busy lately?"

When Manager Wang heard Li Muxia's voice, he looked up at the newcomer with some surprise and said, "Miss, you've arrived."

As he spoke, he got up and walked towards Li Muxia, and opened the door to instruct the waiter downstairs to brew a pot of tea.

After Li Muxia sat down, the waiter brought in a pot of tea. He was surprised to see such a beautiful woman suddenly appear in his boss's office, and she looked somewhat familiar.

The waiter was full of doubts, but he knew he shouldn't pry into his master's affairs. He poured tea for the two of them and then left.

Ignoring the waiter's doubts, Li Muxia had come several times before, but each time she was dressed as a man.

Shopkeeper Wang: "Miss, is there something you need this time?"

Li Muxia: "Yes, there is something. How's business at the store lately?"

Upon hearing Li Muxia's question, Manager Wang pushed the ledger he had just been looking at toward Li Muxia and said, "Business has been very good in the store recently. We make at least five hundred taels a day. After deducting costs and workers' monthly wages, the daily profit is over three hundred taels."

Li Muxia flipped through the ledgers and saw that the income was indeed considerable; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was making a fortune every day.

After reviewing the ledger, Li Muxia asked, "The weather has turned cooler recently, so there should be more people eating hot pot."

Shopkeeper Wang: "Indeed, a lot of people have been coming to eat hot pot lately, but in a while, there will be less green vegetables for hot pot. In winter, only cabbage will be available for hot pot."

Li Muxia frowned upon hearing this; it was indeed a problem.

Now, the ingredients used for hot pot in the restaurant are nothing more than various kinds of green vegetables and some meat.

Li Muxia was indeed somewhat perplexed, as none of the modern technological products she ate were available.

In the cold winter, hot pot would be very popular, but we can't let people eat meat all the time. Kyoto is far from the sea, and transportation in this era wasn't well-developed. It would take about seven or eight days to transport seafood from the nearest coast. Moreover, seafood doesn't survive long out of the sea and spoils easily. If it's frozen after it goes out to sea, it can be kept fresh for a few days.

However, transporting seafood is not a simple matter; there are many things to consider. Therefore, Li Muxia temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​incorporating seafood into her business.

Since seafood wasn't an option, Li Muxia decided to look for other sources. After much thought, she decided to maintain the supply of vegetables. Even if they weren't used for hot pot, many people would still come to eat them if they were made into other dishes. After all, being able to eat vegetables in winter was a luxury for everyone.

Li Muxia looked at Manager Wang and said, "Uncle Wang, you don't need to worry about the vegetables. Just leave it to me. Don't worry, even in winter, I will make sure that our store has a supply of vegetables."

Manager Wang was curious and doubtful when he heard Li Muxia's words, but he instinctively believed that if Li Muxia said it was possible, then it was definitely possible.

"Okay, if we have green vegetables here in winter, even a simple stir-fried green vegetable dish can attract a large number of customers."

Li Muxia nodded, no longer discussing the hotpot issue, and explained the purpose of her visit: "Uncle Wang, you know that I want to open a clinic. The initial investment in the clinic is too large, and the income from Xiankelai may not be enough. Therefore, I want to open another shop."

Upon hearing this, Manager Wang said, "I was just about to say the same thing, Miss. I suggest that we separate the hot pot business and open an independent hot pot restaurant, specializing in hot pot and not serving other dishes."

Li Muxia was surprised that Manager Wang would bring this up and asked, "Why?"

Manager Wang explained, "Hot pot has a stronger flavor, which can mask the aroma of other dishes. If there's one person eating hot pot in the restaurant, the whole place will be filled with the smell, making it impossible for other customers who don't eat hot pot to concentrate on enjoying the food. So, even if our dishes are delicious, they will be overwhelmed by the strong smell of hot pot. Therefore, I thought of opening a dedicated hot pot restaurant so that it wouldn't affect the flavor of other dishes. It would also be easier to promote other dishes."

Li Muxia thought what he said made a lot of sense. She didn't come to the store often, so she wasn't clear about the customers' reactions. Manager Wang was in the store every day, so he was better able to spot the problems.

Li Muxia nodded and said, "Then let's do as you say. But, do we have enough money in the account to open a hot pot restaurant?"

Shopkeeper Wang hesitated for a moment before saying, "If..." He wanted to say that it would be enough if they didn't run a clinic, but in the end, he didn't say it.

Li Muxia understood what Manager Wang meant and said, "If that's not enough, let's attract investment."

Upon hearing this, Manager Wang asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Li Muxia gave a brief explanation, which meant opening a store together as a partnership. Manager Wang understood after listening and gave Li Muxia a thumbs up, saying, "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! This way, although our income will be less, our risk will also be much lower. Moreover, hot pot is so popular now. If we announce our investment attraction method, we should attract many people to join us."

At this point, he hesitated, "What if too many people want to join?"

Li Muxia said, "Okay, we're only opening a hot pot restaurant in Kyoto right now, not anywhere else. If anyone else wants to partner with us, we can let them open in other places. We'll provide the hot pot base, and they can give us a share of the profits every year. But remember, the hot pot base recipe must be protected, and we need to sign a contract with them that can't be terminated for at least five years."

The recipe for hot pot broth is not difficult. As long as you are willing to study it, you can definitely make it. So Li Muxia doesn't care if the hot pot broth is copied. She is short of money now. As long as she earns enough money before it is copied, she doesn't care about the rest. Moreover, five years is enough time for their hot pot restaurant to become famous. Most people are still quite nostalgic.