Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Gu Mingyue quickly calculated in her mind.

After paying out the rewards and taxes, a large portion of the profit of 89,000 taels will be gone.

The problem is that Chen Sandao's shop continued to make money like this every month afterward.

The reputation of braised duck had already spread, coupled with the emperor's personal inscription...

You'll only earn more and more in the future.

She needs to find a way to distribute the profits.

Gu Mingyue pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Old Chen, come and sit down."

Chen Sandao handed the letter to the shop assistant, jogged back, and sat down on the stool opposite Gu Mingyue.

"Please speak, sir."

"How long have these guys been with you?"

Chen Sandao thought for a moment.

"The earliest batch was recruited about ten years ago. Later, more were recruited, the shortest of which lasted more than a month."

"How's your craft learning going?"

"Hey!" Chen Sandao slapped his thigh, "They're all clever."

"I can handle making salted eggs and preserved eggs quite well now. My skill with braised duck is a little lacking, but with another month or two of practice, it'll be pretty close."

Gu Mingyue nodded.

"I have an idea," she said, looking into Chen Sandao's eyes and enunciating each word clearly.

"The master teaches the apprentice, and when the apprentice graduates, he goes out to open a shop."

Chen Sandao was stunned.

Gu Mingyue continued.

"For any skilled worker who can work independently, Pujitang will provide financial assistance to open a shop." "The cost of the shop and the capital for the first three months will all be covered by the head office."

"After they left, they hung up the Pujitang signboard and used Pujitang's secret recipe."

"As the master craftsman, you are responsible for overseeing the skills. Whoever's work meets the standards can leave."

"As the head manager of the main store, you take a cut of the total profits. When they train apprentices, they also take a cut from the profits of the branch stores under their supervision."

The back room fell silent.

Chen Sandao's mouth was open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

The dozen or so men behind him were all listening intently. At first, they thought they had misheard.

Invest? Sponsor? Open a shop?

The boss means... to send them out to be managers?

There was a three-second silence.

Then, with a "thump".

Chen Sandao knelt down.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen or so of his men knelt down on the ground in unison.

"The employer is incredibly kind!"

"My employer is like my own mother!"

"I've never had such a great employer in my life!"

The cries rose and fell.

A young man was wiping away tears, his voice cracking.

"My parents couldn't even spare the money to save up for a shop, boss..."

With red eyes, Chen Sandao kowtowed heavily.

"The boss trusts us so much! I, Chen Sandao, swear here and now! I will pass on all my skills! I guarantee that every apprentice will be able to make a name for themselves when they leave!"

Gu Mingyue stood still, her expression gentle.

He secretly began to make his own plans.

Great, if the secret recipe is distributed, the profit margin will be smaller.

In the future, braised duck will be everywhere, leading to increased competition, a drop in price, and naturally, less money will be made.

Most importantly, this chain store model is easy to manage in modern society, but it was completely uncontrollable in ancient times.

The store's profits can be spread out very quickly.

Then, under the pretext of "retaining talent," he would offer high guaranteed base salaries to the shop owners.

Then the money can be spent!

Hehehehe~~~

"Get up, everyone."

"Work hard, and you'll have a bright future."

The men wiped away their tears and stood up, each one smiling as if it were New Year's Day.

Xiao Jue, who was listening nearby and fanning himself with a folding fan, suddenly spoke up.

"Master Gu".

Gu Mingyue turned to look at him.

Xiao Jue smiled gently and elegantly.

"What if the secret recipe gets leaked, and someone learns the skill and uses it elsewhere?"

The back room fell silent again.

The guys' smiles froze for a moment.

Lu Qinghe stood beside Gu Mingyue, turned around and cupped his hands in greeting to Prince Qi. His voice was not loud, but every word was clear.

"Send him to the authorities, fine him, punish him with caning, and remove him from the Pujitang shrine."

His tone was flat, as if he were reading an official document.

"The contract states that the secret recipe belongs to Pujitang. Anyone who handles the secret recipe must sign a confidentiality agreement. Violators will be prosecuted according to the law."

After hearing this, the men were not afraid at all; instead, they all patted their chests in confidence.

"Don't worry, boss!"

"We will always be part of Pujitang!"

"Anyone who dares to leak the secret recipe won't be handed over to the authorities; I'll beat them up first!"

Chen Sandao pounded his chest loudly.

"Boss! If I, Chen Sandao, utter a single word of this, may I be struck by lightning!"

Gu Mingyue: "..."

No~~~~~~~~

We really don't need you to be so loyal!

She was also hoping that the secret recipe would gradually leak out, thus reducing profits.

As dusk fell, the candles in the back room were already lit.

Gu Mingyue stood under the eaves, watching the workers pack the last batch of braised duck into oil paper bags.

The queuing noise in the front hall gradually subsided, leaving only a few shop assistants wiping the tables as they packed up.

She turned her head and glanced in the direction of the reception room.

Xiao Ye and Xiao Jue were drinking tea inside, while Liu An was bending over to serve them.

Geng Zhi, accompanied by several plainclothes guards, stood at the entrance, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Taking advantage of the moment, Gu Mingyue winked at her brother.

Gu Mingli understood, put down his teacup, and followed her into the backyard.

Under the locust tree in the backyard.

Gu Mingyue squatted on the ground, drawing numbers on the muddy ground with a twig, her face filled with despair.

Gu Mingli also squatted down and tilted his head to look at his sister.

Moonlight filtered through the leaves, dappling their shoulders.

"Mingyue, are you unhappy?"

"Um."

Gu Mingyue's voice was muffled.

"I haven't spent a single penny of the 200,000 taels I brought. Now that I've paid the bonuses and taxes, I still have 10,000 taels of profit left for me to take with me."

She poked the branch into the ground.

"In addition, twelve million ducks have also been included in the system tasks."

Gu Mingli was silent for two seconds, then patted her on the shoulder.

"fine."

His tone carried the calmness of someone who had been through it all.

"There's a Peach Blossom Spring up there too. The investment there is huge—roadbeds, bridge piers, cement workshops—everything there is a money pit. It'll definitely cost a fortune."

Gu Mingyue looked up at her brother.

A reassuring smile graced Gu Mingli's handsome face.

Gu Mingyue took a deep breath.

"you're right."

She stood up and patted the dirt off her skirt.

"The real big project is at Peach Blossom Spring! Wen Yanzhi sent me a message saying that they've already recruited nearly 10,000 staff members for the scenic area."

"Just paying out monthly wages would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. And then there's the neighborhood operation..."

The more she spoke, the brighter her eyes became.

Gu Mingli raised his hand and ruffled his sister's hair.

So don't worry, things will work themselves out.

"Um."

Gu Mingyue felt much better.