The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Upon hearing Wanyue's words, Shen Cao said sullenly, "Miss Wanyue, I also want to open a restaurant."

"But we have to take it slowly, there's no rush."

"Do you not have any money? I have some that I can give you."

Shen Cao [...]

Shen Yu'an immediately stopped her from continuing and shook his head at her.

After finishing their meal, the group went to the pier.

Shen Cao took out the project proposal she had prepared in advance and explained it to Shen Yu'an and Wei Siyu at the dock.

"Look, the westernmost part of the dock is right next to the seafood market, and the area 50 meters away from the seafood market is planned to remain as it is for the time being."

"From fifty meters away to the easternmost point, it is about two miles long."

"The area in front of the dock is for loading and unloading goods. Back then, in order to ensure that it was convenient for merchants and dock workers to eat, a large platform was specially built on the opposite side of the dock."

"However, because these places are relatively large and difficult to manage, their utilization rate is extremely low."

"And the main source of tax revenue for the entire Xin'an County is this wharf."

“I’ve calculated it. There are at least two or three thousand merchant ships coming and going at this dock every day.”

"And each ship has at least several dozen workers."

"The first thing these people do after getting off the ship is to find food."

"This is why restaurants and eateries in Xin'an County are doing so well."

"However, the restaurants and eateries were too far from the pier, so many vendors saw a business opportunity and started bringing their carts to the pier every day to sell food."

"However, the food they make is just average, and only a few people are willing to patronize them occasionally. Most people still prefer to go to restaurants a little further away."

"Our main target this time is the dockworkers who work on the docks."

“They do a lot of physical labor every day. If they could just walk a few steps after work and have a delicious and filling meal, that would be the best thing.”

"Moreover, due to Xin'an County's unique geographical location, the curfew is not particularly strict. If this place is well managed, it could become a new night market as lively as Xin'an Street."

Wei Siyu and Shen Yu'an were not visiting Xin'an County for the first time, so they were well aware of the business opportunities at the docks there.

However, as Shen Cao said, this place is difficult to manage because it is quite scattered.

Moreover, the docks are a mixed bag of people.

To achieve Shencao's ultimate goal, the first step is to solve the management problem.

Shen Yu'an expressed his concerns, "Cao'er, we know what you're saying, but as you also know, the people at the docks are a mixed bag, and even the yamen runners sometimes have trouble managing them."

Shen Cao nodded, "I've considered the issues you raised, Brother Shen."

"I spent several days observing the docks and discovered a group of people who were organized to collect so-called 'protection fees' from the vendors there."

"The main purpose of this group is to make money. As long as we can guarantee that they can make more money than before through us, I believe that these are not problems."

"And you also mentioned that the group is a mixed bag, but everyone has their own rules and ways. I've found that although this group looks fierce, once they've taken the money, they not only don't make things difficult for the vendors, but they also occasionally eat at the vendors' stalls and pay them normally without causing them any trouble."

"I think there must be someone controlling this group of people."

“Once we convince that person, managing the dock will be much easier.”

"And don't forget, we did this together with the government. With the government backing us up, what are we afraid of?"

Shen Yu'an was surprised that Shen Cao had already figured out these things.

Moreover, she analyzed the situation at the dock so clearly.

"However, these vendors could have done business simply by paying a small protection fee."

"According to your plan, these vendors will not only have to pay taxes, but also stall fees. Will they be willing to do that?"

Shen Cao smiled confidently, "Brother Wei, do you think my cooking is delicious?"

"It's delicious, of course it's delicious."

"If I could make them taste exactly like mine at their stalls, do you think their food wouldn't sell?"

"What? It tastes the same as yours?"

"Yes."

"Actually, you don't make much money just by collecting stall fees."

"We can't even recoup the cost of the renovation."

"Food is the most important thing for people. We need to rely on these vendors to sell delicious food so that the dock workers and passengers on cargo ships will like to eat it and be willing to spend money at the dock."

"This is our way of making money."

Upon hearing this, Wei Siyu frowned even more deeply. "But there's only one you. How can you expect every stall to make food that tastes exactly like you?"

Shen Cao said mysteriously, "I'll tell you about these things later."

"As I mentioned before, there is a lot of foot traffic at the pier, but very few people are willing to eat there. The main reason is that the food they serve is both monotonous and not tasty."

“I’ve calculated that if I plan out all the open spaces on the entire dock and distribute them evenly, I can make about five hundred stalls.”

"These 500 stalls are only allowed to have two stalls with the same items, which means there need to be 250 different kinds of food."

"And this is something that, apart from me, Shen Cao, probably no one else in the entire Great Xia Kingdom can do." When talking about his profession, Shen Cao was very proud and not at all modest.

"Tell me, would they rather sell a food that nobody likes and only makes a few dozen coins a month, or a food that many people like and can sell more than ten taels a month?"

"I think most people would choose the latter."

"The ten or so taels I mentioned was a conservative estimate."

"All they need to do is take out one-tenth of their monthly income to buy my secret seasoning, and then spend another one-tenth to rent a stall here."

"But the remaining eight-tenths made much more money than they originally would have."

Shen Yu'an and Wei Siyu nodded in agreement after hearing Shen Cao's words.

Shen Yu'an seemed to have thought of something and said with some worry, "Cao'er, what you said is indeed true."

"However, food is something that can be easily imitated by those with ulterior motives."

"What if they stop buying your secret seasonings after they figure out how to cook the food?"

Shen Cao narrowed her eyes and said confidently, "Don't worry, they can only imitate the surface. They can't make my secret seasoning no matter what."

"Moreover, buying from me will be much cheaper than them making it themselves."