Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

March 19th, 1929 (the 18th year of the Republic of China).

On Qianmenwai Street, a newsboy waved his newspapers with a rustling sound: "Read the newspaper! Read the newspaper! Breaking news from the 'Shibao'! Dongxinglou restaurant suffers defeat in a food competition; a century-old establishment collapses!"

Passersby stopped and took out their money.

"Hey, they really lost? I heard yesterday that Li's family won, but I thought it was just a rumor!"

"Absolutely! My second uncle's brother-in-law's wife's brother was a judge there! The scene was... wow!"

"Look, didn't we say that if you lose, you have to publish an apology? Where is it?"

The group searched through the newspaper repeatedly, and finally found a small statement in an inconspicuous corner, between the "Missing Person Notice" and the "Cure for Venereal Diseases" advertisement.

The text is so small that you have to squint to read it.

[Apology Statement: In yesterday's culinary exchange, due to rushed preparation of ingredients and slightly insufficient cooking time, the dishes at Dongxinglou were not quite at their best and were slightly inferior to those at Liji. We hereby apologize and, as previously stated, will no longer withhold ingredients from Liji. We will strive to improve in the future to give back to our diners. -- Dongxinglou respectfully apologizes]

"Pah!"

The person reading the newspaper spat, "This is what you call an apology? What do you mean by 'prepared ingredients hastily'? This Dongxinglou restaurant, they lost and won't admit it, and they're still being sarcastic!"

"Alright, it's good enough that it was published at all." A shrewd person next to him laughed. "Sun Dehai is like a duck, the meat is rotten but the beak is not. Although the Shibao is a newspaper, it is mostly about gossip and local grievances. You won't see a single word about it in the proper newspapers, the Jingbao and the Chenbao. He's playing tricks on us. He fulfilled his promise to publish an apology, but he doesn't want too many people to see it."

"No matter how they try to cheat, Li's Kitchen has become famous after this battle! Let's go, let's go to Li's Kitchen! If we're late, we might not even get a bowl of soup!"

Although it wasn't time for Li's Restaurant to open yet, the entrance was already packed with people.

Under the golden signboard of Li Ji, Da Hu was sweating profusely as he maintained order. Before the stack of bamboo tokens in his hand had even been distributed, many had already been reserved.

"Everyone! Don't push! Don't push! It's not time yet!"

Inside the shop, Li Chunsheng looked at the copy of "Real News" in his hand, as if it were all within his expectations.

"This Sun Dehai certainly knows how to exploit loopholes."

Old Wu, somewhat unwilling to accept this, said, "Boss, Dongxinglou is really underhanded. Their statement is so weak and insinuating that our victory was unfair. Should I go to a few major newspapers and have them recount yesterday's events?"

"No need." Li Chunsheng casually placed the newspaper on the counter, his expression calm. "The eyes of the masses are discerning. The more he tries to cover things up, the more guilty he seems. If we keep pressing him, it will only make us seem unreasonable and lose our composure. Besides, I saw quite a few reporters present yesterday."

He looked up and glanced around the already somewhat crowded shop.

"The most urgent task now is not to engage in a war of words with the defeated generals, but to solve our own problems."

Li Chunsheng pointed to the noisy crowd outside the door: "Mr. Wu, look at this scene. We have won against Dongxinglou and our reputation has greatly increased, but this small temple can no longer contain such a great Buddha."

On the system panel, the title of "Commoner Chef God" was shining with golden light.

[Commoner Chef God: Wearing this title increases customer favorability by 20%, increases the chance of repeat customers by 30%, and slightly increases customers' patience while waiting.]

"Master, what do you mean?"

"Closed for business." Li Chunsheng uttered two words indifferently.

"Closed down?" Yunniang, who was carrying tea out, nearly spilled it. "Chunsheng, closing down now? This is the perfect time to strike while the iron is hot! There are so many people queuing up outside!"

"Sister-in-law, sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood," Li Chunsheng patiently explained. "Right now, we're like a fat man who's eaten too much and can't take any steps. The shop next door has already been taken over, and we can't keep it empty forever. I plan to close for a week and knock down this wall to turn the two rooms into one!"

He stood up, walked to the wall, and patted it with his hand: "Not only does the main hall need to be expanded, but the kitchen also needs to be expanded. There are too few stoves now, so let's make use of that shed in the backyard as well."

Old Wu silently considered it for a moment and nodded, saying, "I think it's a good idea. Although closing for a week will result in a significant loss of revenue, in the long run, our capacity to accommodate guests can double. Moreover, the renovation will also allow us to recover from the intense fatigue of the past few days."

"Yes, closing for a week can actually boost everyone's enthusiasm even more; this is an even higher level of scarcity marketing," Li Chunsheng nodded.

"But..." Yunniang still felt a pang of heartache, "That would cost so much money."

"Money is meant to be spent," Li Chunsheng chuckled. "Besides, we're upgrading here to earn even more money. Da Hu! Go put up a notice at the door!"

A few minutes later, a red notice was posted on the door of Li's Restaurant.

[To our valued customers: Thank you for your continued support. To improve our dining environment and provide better service, our restaurant will be temporarily closed for renovations and expansion for seven days. We apologize for any inconvenience. After seven days, Li Ji will be back with a brand new look and welcome you back!]

"Huh? It's closed down?"

"Why are you closed at this time?! I still want to try that stir-fried double crispy pastry that beat Yan Desheng's!"

"Expansion? That's great! We won't have to queue in the strong winds anymore!"

A stir ran through the crowd, some disappointed, others expectant, but in any case, the doors of Li's Restaurant slowly closed amidst the regretful gazes of the crowd.

Li Chunsheng is not the kind of person who drags things out.

Wang, the carpenter who used to work for Liuxianglu, was invited back by Li Chunsheng. This time, he also brought a team of bricklayers with him.

"Master Wang, I'll have to trouble you again."

"Manager Li, this is quite a generous gesture!" Carpenter Wang exclaimed, looking at the two shops. "Breaking down this wall makes it look much more spacious!"

"Master Wang, this wall needs to be torn down, and the roof beams need to be reinforced," Li Chunsheng pointed to the roof. "I want to make this lobby brighter. The original windows were too small, so I want to replace them all with large glass windows. Although glass is expensive these days, it's clear and looks clean."

While they were knocking on the wall, Li Chunsheng wasn't idle either.

"Mr. Wu, as our store grows bigger, we're afraid the few of us won't be enough," Li Chunsheng said, holding a small notebook. "In the dining area, Da Hu, you'll still be in charge of overall scheduling of the waiters. We'll need to hire two more waiters to handle serving and cleaning. In the kitchen, my wife can't manage alone. We'll need to hire someone to chop the food and someone to wash the dishes."

Old Wu took notes and nodded, saying, "Hmm."

"Also," Li Chunsheng looked at Yunniang, "sister-in-law, you don't need to do those odd jobs in the kitchen anymore. You'll be in charge of keeping an eye on the quality of the dishes and the hygiene of the kitchen. The reason why Li's restaurant is so popular is because of cleanliness and taste. We can't afford to lose either of these two things."

Yunniang rubbed her hands nervously: "Chunsheng, can I handle this? I have to worry about so many people..."

"You can do it," Li Chunsheng laughed. "Why worry about a few guys? Besides, Yaya's in school, so you, as her mother, need to keep improving too, right?"

Mentioning Shen Nian, Yunniang's eyes lit up instantly. "Okay! I'll do whatever you say!"