After transmigrating, I became a stepmother.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Lin Hao quickly called him back.

"Since I've taken a 10% cut, I'll offer you a few suggestions. Would you like to hear them?"

When Gu Liunian heard her say that, and thought of her wonderful ideas, he sat back down, looking like he was listening attentively.

"What are your plans for starting a hot pot business? What's the general situation of the restaurant?" Lin Hao asked directly, as she needed to understand the situation before offering advice.

"Gu's Yuelai Restaurant has been open for ten years. The first floor lobby and the second floor are geared towards the general public, while the third and fourth floors are private rooms with a more elegant style. Recently, a new and powerful restaurant opened across the street, so the restaurant's business has not been doing so well."

It seems that the Gu family's Yuelai Restaurant is quite large.

"So, how do you plan to position this hot pot restaurant?" Lin Hao asked curiously.

“This dish is clearly meant for a group of people, so it would be more suitable to put it in the private room upstairs,” Gu Liunian said after a moment’s thought.

Lin Hao felt that Gu Liunian made sense. After all, even in modern society where material things are highly developed, the price of a hot pot meal is not cheap, and it is impossible to take a completely affordable approach.

"If you want to go for a higher-end approach, then I suggest you repackage it."

"Oh? What are your thoughts?" Gu Liunian asked casually.

"For example, different patterns can be engraved on different copper pots. Like the one we just used, it has a meander pattern, which means continuous prosperity and endless wealth. So, you can design the private room in a luxurious style that rich people like."

"For example, you can also depict bamboo joint patterns, which symbolize perseverance and tolerance, and decorate the room in an elegant style that scholars like."

"There are also patterns like the character '福' (fortune) and '寿' (longevity) to symbolize good fortune and long life. In short, different patterns on copper pots, paired with corresponding decoration styles, and given a name that matches the style of the private room, will definitely capture some people's attention and make them willingly hand over their money."

Lin Hao rattled off a lot in one breath. This was the result of her inspiration from seeing the meander pattern on the copper pot, combined with modern marketing strategies. It should be pretty good!

Gu Liunian's eyes lit up upon hearing this; such a gimmick truly captured the guests' expectations. She couldn't help but think even more highly of her.

"Good idea, anything else?" He couldn't resist trying to extract more information from her.

Lin Hao had no idea what he was thinking. When he asked her that question, she thought he felt it wasn't enough and couldn't help but start thinking again.

"Yes, we can also work on the soup base. For example, the spicy soup base can be divided into different levels of spiciness, since everyone's tolerance is different. Moreover, in addition to spicy soup base and mushroom soup base, we can also make clear soup base and tomato soup base."

Gu Liunian listened and found it to be very reasonable. Everyone has different tastes, and it is impossible to please everyone. It is indeed necessary to offer more choices to meet the needs of different customers.

"Okay, then I'll do it your way. But I'll have to trouble you to write down the ingredients for all the different soup bases so that I can have people make them according to your instructions."

"No problem, as long as it makes money. No trouble at all!" Lin Hao replied with a smile. "I can write out the recipe, but let me make this clear first: this stuff is very easy to mix and easy to imitate. If anything goes wrong later, don't blame me!"

"Okay, I will find a way to strengthen supervision."

Seeing her greedy yet cautious demeanor, Gu Liunian felt that he hadn't been mistreating her! On second thought, although she had no worries about food and drink in this courtyard, she really didn't have any extra sources of income.

He cleared his throat and said, "From now on, every month, in addition to the fixed monthly allowance from the public treasury, I will give you an extra five taels of silver to spend as you please."

Lin Hao was taken aback, not understanding how the topic had suddenly jumped to this point. However, free money was free money, so why not take it? Five taels of silver, according to her understanding of the market recently, was roughly equivalent to three thousand yuan!

"Thank you so much!" Her expression was somewhat ingratiating, and her voice unconsciously softened. Gu Liunian once again felt that she was a complete money-grubber, but her demeanor wasn't repulsive; rather, it was rather endearing!

Lin Hao thought Gu Liunian was a decent person to get along with; he was quite generous! Thinking of this, she tentatively asked, "You're planning to put the hot pot in the private rooms. What are your thoughts on the business on the first and second floors?"

Seeing her expression that said, "Come ask me, I have something to say," Gu Liunian readily agreed and said, "Not yet. If you do, you can tell me."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hao thought, "That's promising!" However, she still maintained a reserved demeanor. "Well, I do have an idea, but I don't know if it will be worth anything."

Gu Liunian found it amusing; her scheming was written all over her face. "Tell me your plan. If it works, I'll give you ten percent of the profits, how about it?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hao beamed and raised her voice several decibels, "Oh dear, that's such a formal thing to say!"

Gu Liunian teased her deliberately, "So you don't want it anymore?"

"No, how could I not appreciate your kindness? That would be too much of a blow to your pride! Hehe." Lin Hao quickly waved her hand.

"Then tell me!" Gu Liunian stopped teasing her.

"I think we could skewer some hot pot ingredients on bamboo sticks, then use a large pot as the broth. Each guest could choose any broth and ingredients. After cooking, we could bring the broth to the guests and serve them. That way, one person can enjoy hot pot without having to gather a group. What do you think?"

Looking at her expectant eyes, Gu Liunian felt as if he were the most important person in the world, and he was slightly lost in thought.

Seeing that the person in front of him was unresponsive, Lin Hao couldn't help but move closer and wave her hand in front of his face.

Realizing he had been lost in thought, Gu Liunian quickly snapped out of it and said casually, "I think it's feasible!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hao stopped worrying about why he had paused and was instead immersed in the joy of her upcoming income. She felt like a little business genius, having made three extra payments in such a short time—truly impressive! She couldn't help but proudly shake her head and hum a tune.

Gu Liunian looked at him and chuckled slightly. Sure enough, he was still young and easily satisfied!