Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Just as Wu Yong was helping Zhao Tianming resolve the restaurant's business crisis, a waiter rushed over to Zhao Tianming and reported: "Manager Zhao, something bad has happened! This time, all the merchants have refused to provide us with any ingredients. They say that because our restaurant has caused people to get sick, they are worried about being implicated and affecting their business."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianming's face turned deathly pale, large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he swayed, almost collapsing to the ground. "What are we going to do? Without ingredients, how can the restaurant stay open?"

Wu Yong frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Manager Zhao, don't be hasty. Let's discuss this further."

At this time, Song Jiang, Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, Shi Qian, Lu Junyi, Yan Qing, Shi Xiu and others also rushed over upon hearing the news.

Song Jiang stroked his beard and said with a solemn expression, "This matter is quite thorny. Those merchants are so resolute, they must be under tremendous pressure."

Lu Zhishen waved his thick arms and shouted, "These unscrupulous merchants are so opportunistic and disloyal!"

Wu Song clenched his fists and said with a firm gaze, "It must be that competitor who is pulling the strings behind the scenes and resorting to such despicable means."

Shi Qian's eyes darted around, and he said in a shrill voice, "How about I go and sound out those merchants and see if I can find any loopholes?"

Lu Junyi shook his head and said, "That's not advisable. They must be heavily guarded right now. Brother Shiqian, it might be dangerous for you to go there rashly."

Yan Qing frowned slightly and said thoughtfully, "Perhaps we can split up. One group can go find new food suppliers, and the other group can investigate the mastermind behind this."

Shi Xiu gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, we must find the mastermind behind this and let them know that we are not easy to bully!"

Wu Yong nodded and said, “Brother Yan Qing is right. I think we should do this: Brother Lu Zhishen and Brother Wu Song are skilled in martial arts, so they should go to the surrounding villages to find potential sources of ingredients; Brother Shi Qian is clever, so he should investigate who those merchants who refuse to provide ingredients have been in close contact with recently; Brothers Lu Junyi, Yan Qing, and Shi Xiu should investigate the movements of their competitors. Brother Song Jiang and I will stay at the restaurant and try to stabilize the situation.”

Everyone nodded and left after receiving the order.

A tense and anxious atmosphere filled the restaurant. Zhao Tianming paced back and forth, his heart pounding with unease. Wu Yong, on the other hand, sat to the side, calmly analyzing the situation and considering countermeasures.

The heroes each went their separate ways, but neither open nor covert investigations yielded any results. Days passed, and the restaurant remained deserted and faced the danger of closure.

He Xiang cried incessantly in Zhao Tianming's shop, her sobs were deafening. "What are we going to do? Is our restaurant going to go down like this? How am I going to live?"

Zhang Bangchang was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet, and the fat on his face jiggled.

Li Li looked at Zhang Bangchang and said irritably, "I said, how come you used to be a prime minister, how come you can't even handle this little crisis?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bangchang's eyes widened in anger, and he kept tugging at his beard, shouting, "You really flatter me! I've already retired to the second line, who still takes me seriously? What you say is like farting, it may sound loud, but it's completely useless!"

Li Li, not to be outdone, put his hands on his hips and shouted, "Oh ho! You're putting on airs like a prime minister now? If you're so capable, then come up with a solution. What's the use of just throwing a tantrum here!"

Zhang Bangchang was speechless after being rebuked by Li Li, and stammered, "I...I'm trying to find a solution too!"

At this moment, He Xiang cried even louder: "Stop arguing! If you keep arguing, the restaurant will collapse, and you still haven't come up with a solution!"

Li Li scratched his head and said, "Why don't we go and beg those merchants, kneel down and kowtow to them, maybe they'll soften their hearts and give us the ingredients."

Zhang Bangchang rolled his eyes at him: "What kind of terrible idea is this! Don't we have any dignity left?"

He Xiang wiped away her tears and sobbed, "Then how about we borrow money from loan sharks to buy ingredients?"

Zhang Bangchang jumped up: "Are you crazy! That's a bottomless pit. If we jump in, we'll never get out!"

The group argued back and forth, but they couldn't come up with a feasible solution.

Suddenly, Li Li had a flash of inspiration and said, "Why don't we have a big promotion, buy one get ten free? Maybe that will attract some customers."

Zhang Bangchang snorted: "Given our current lack of ingredients, what are you going to offer as a buy-one-get-ten-free deal? You're just throwing the northwest wind away!"

Li Li smiled awkwardly: "I was in a hurry, and I blurted it out in a moment of impulse."

Just when everyone was in a panic, a large rat darted out from the corner, startling He Xiang so much that she screamed again.

Zhang Bangchang exclaimed helplessly, "It's like when it rains, it pours! Even the rats are bullying us!"

Just when everyone was at a loss, Wu Song and his companions returned, weary from their journey. Wu Yong rushed forward, his fan still waving, and asked, "Brother Wu Song, how did the investigation go?" Wu Song shook his head helplessly, his expression grave. Lu Zhishen also looked frustrated, and muttered, "We searched everywhere we could, asked everyone we could, but we didn't get any useful information."

Wu Yong frowned, gently waving his fan, and said, "Right now, the problem we need to solve is the supply of ingredients and medicine. Those people are refusing to sell us ingredients, clearly trying to drive us into a corner. However, we can't just sit here and wait to die. I see that we brothers have traveled all over the country and made many friends. Let's all think carefully, does anyone know anyone who runs a wine shop, tavern, or sells ingredients?"

Everyone fell into deep thought. After a moment, Wu Song's eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "My brother's steamed buns are the best in Qinghe County! Wu Dalang's steamed buns are praised by all the neighbors."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong's eyes flashed with hope, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "That's a good idea. Since these steamed buns are so popular, and we've never had them before, we can take this opportunity to try them out. Maybe we can attract quite a few customers."

Zhao Tianming then said to Wu Song, "Brother Wu Song, please make a trip to Qinghe County and ask Brother Wu to make more. From now on, his steamed buns can be directly managed by the restaurant, and I will pay him three times the price."

Wu Song clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying with a grateful expression, "Manager Zhao, I, Wu Song, truly have no way to repay your kindness. Rest assured, I will ride as fast as I can to Qinghe County and make sure the matter is settled."

After saying this, Wu Song turned to leave. Zhao Tianming quickly called out to him, "Brother Wu Song, be careful on your journey, and take plenty of travel money." Wu Song waved his hand and said, "Manager Zhao, I appreciate your kindness, but I, Wu Song, can manage."

Watching Wu Song's departing figure, a glimmer of hope rekindled in everyone's hearts.

A few days later, Wu Song hurriedly returned to the restaurant with Wu Dalang. Wu Dalang carried a full basket of steamed buns on his back, his forehead covered with sweat, but he could not hide the honest smile on his face: "Manager Zhao, we're here."

Zhao Tianming hurriedly stepped forward to take the steamed bun and said, "Brother, you must be tired from your journey."

Wu Dalang wiped his sweat and said, "It's no trouble at all. I'm glad I could help."

Wu Yong stepped forward, carefully examined the steamed bun, and said, "Brother, this steamed bun looks quite good. From now on, we'll have to rely on your skills to make the restaurant thrive."

Wu Dalang nodded earnestly: "Don't worry, everyone, I will do my best and make sure you are satisfied."

With Wu Dalang's steamed buns, the restaurant finally had a new selling point, but the problem of medicine still weighed heavily on everyone's minds like a boulder. They knew that the road ahead was still difficult.

When Li Kui saw Wu Song bring Wu Dalang back, the aroma of steamed buns instantly filled the air, whetting everyone's appetite. Li Kui swallowed hard and looked at Li Li, saying, "Li Li, you're usually so talkative, especially when you were arguing with Manager Zhao's father-in-law. I remember you used to run a wine shop, so why can't you think of a solution now?"

Upon hearing this, Li Li's eyes widened, and he retorted, "You've got to be kidding me! Don't you know me? I run a shady business, what decent friends could I possibly have? Let alone any reliable food suppliers! Every customer who comes to my shop has to be careful not to get drugged by me!"

Hearing this, Li Kui burst into laughter, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth, and said, "Haha, Li Li, you bastard, with your shady inn, how could you possibly have any ingredients! You don't think you're treating your customers like ingredients, do you!"

Li Li was so agitated that he jumped up and down, pointing at Li Kui and shouting, "Li Kui, you black bastard, stop talking nonsense! Although I, Li Li, run a black-hearted inn, I have never done anything so unscrupulous!"

Li Kui persisted, moving closer to Li Li and deliberately winking, saying, "Oh, you're getting angry! Then tell me, besides sleeping pills, what other good stuff does your shady inn have?"

Li Li was so angry with Li Kui that his face turned red, and he stammered, "I...I still have wine in my shop! Is that not allowed?"

Li Kui laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight, saying, "Haha, Li Li, stop being so stubborn. Your wine was probably watered down too!"

Li Li put his hands on his hips and said loudly, "Even if it's watered-down wine, it's still better than you, Li Kui, having nothing at all!"

At this moment, Wu Dalang walked over, looking at them arguing with a puzzled expression, and said, "Heroes, stop arguing and think about how to solve the problem of this restaurant."

Li Kui scratched his head and said, "Big Brother is right, let's stop arguing. But I, Li Kui, am not very bright and can't think of a solution."

Li Li snorted and said, "All you know is how to use your axe to chop; you'd be lucky to come up with any other solutions!"

The crowd burst into laughter again, but the laughter was tinged with helplessness and anxiety. Although this brief, humorous argument eased the tense atmosphere somewhat, the restaurant's predicament remained.

Wu Yong quickly stopped Li Kui and Li Li from arguing, and then turned to Song Jiang and said, "Brother Gongming, it seems we still need to get some fresh fish, shrimp, and crabs. I'll have to entrust this matter to you. You should negotiate with the Zhang brothers."

Song Jiang nodded slightly and replied, "Don't worry, Wu Xuejiu, I'll go find Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun right away. I will certainly not fail in my mission." After saying that, Song Jiang hurriedly left.

Then, Wu Yong frowned and thought about the medicine problem. Lu Junyi then spoke up and said, "Wu Xuejiu, I know someone who doesn't run a pharmacy. He just travels around practicing medicine and has no fixed abode. But his medical skills are superb, and he must have a lot of medicine. If he is willing to help, he can help us get through this difficult time."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong's eyes lit up with hope, and he hurriedly asked, "Who is it?"

Lu Junyi smiled slightly and said, "The legendary doctor An Daoquan!"

Wu Yong slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "So it was him! I had almost forgotten about him if you hadn't mentioned it, sir. But An Daoquan's whereabouts are unpredictable; how are we going to find him?"

Lu Junyi thought for a moment and said, "I met him once before and know a few places he frequents. I will send someone to inquire and make sure to invite him here."

Wu Yong nodded and said, "That's very good. Then I'll have to trouble you, sir. But it will take some time for this round trip. We need to find a way to stabilize the situation first."

Lu Junyi said firmly, "Don't worry, scholar. We'll split up and we'll definitely be able to resolve the current crisis."

At this moment, the people around also gathered around, and their expressions relaxed a little when they heard that there was hope of finding medicine.

Lu Zhishen said gruffly, "I don't believe that with so many of us, we can't handle this little bit of trouble!"

Wu Song clenched his fist and said, "As long as it can save the restaurant, I will do my best."

Wu Dalang, standing to the side, said honestly, "I will also make my pancakes well, so as not to hold everyone back."

Everyone expressed their determination to work together to overcome the difficulties.

Meanwhile, Song Jiang also found Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun and discussed with them how to obtain fresh fish, shrimp and other ingredients.

Zhang Heng patted his chest and said, "Brother Song, don't worry. With our skills on the water, we'll take care of this."

Zhang Shun also said, "I will definitely not let everyone down."

The atmosphere in the restaurant was tense yet tinged with a glimmer of hope, as everyone worked together to resolve the crisis.