The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 282 Building momentum
He Chao laughed when this was mentioned.

He genuinely admired Tong Huaqiong.

He had originally been thinking about how to make a name for his peach blossom desserts in the prefectural city.

His idea was that when Peach Blossom Desserts gained popularity in Yanguan Town, it was inseparable from the promotion of Huang Yuanwai, the trendsetter of Yanguan Town's food, clothing, housing and transportation.

There are many more wealthy men named Huang in the prefectural city.

If we can succeed in just one place, we can replicate the success of Yanguan Town.

His plan was to first open the doors to wealthy families in the prefectural city before opening the store, allowing them to enjoy Peach Blossom Desserts. If they were willing to try it, Peach Blossom Desserts would undoubtedly be their first choice for pastries.

He has this confidence.

Everyone has a tendency to follow trends.

If we can win over a wealthy family in the prefecture, we won't have to worry about finding a market for our peach blossom desserts.

He Chao was full of confidence and tried to get close to the doorman, the purchasing agent, and the butler of the wealthy family, but he got nowhere.

When Tong Huaqiong learned about it, she thought He Chao's idea was good, but there were mistakes in its implementation.

Wealthy families have strict requirements for clothing, food, housing, and transportation, especially food. What if they were poisoned?

If you, an outsider, try to infiltrate a wealthy family's home by using the gatekeeper or purchasing manager to interfere with their meals, what will they think?
If anything happens, the housekeeper, purchasing agent, and doorman will all be implicated.

The reason why Tong Huaqiong was able to easily infiltrate the Huang family in Yanguan Town was because Huang Yuanwai came to Tong Huaqiong's shop on his own initiative, rather than Tong Huaqiong orchestrating it.

There was an element of luck involved, but Tong Huaqiong seized that luck decisively.

The situation is different in the prefectural city. Wealthy families there are more cautious and almost never venture into pastry shops.

After thinking for a while, Tong Huaqiong came up with an idea.

Why don't we start with the disciples of wealthy families?
If you ask where the disciples of wealthy families in the prefectural city are concentrated, the answer is Wanliu Academy, of course.

Ningcheng is a place with a strong academic atmosphere, and children from wealthy families all study.

Wanliu Academy is the best academy in Ningcheng, and students are eager to get into it.

There's someone ready to infiltrate the students of Wanliu Academy and let them enjoy peach blossom desserts—Lu Zhaoyang.

As the most talented student in Wanliu Academy, Lu Zhaoyang was a figure who commanded great respect and was admired by his fellow students.

So Tong Huaqiong wrote a letter to He Chao and Lu Zhaoyang that very night.

The next day, four baskets of pastries from Peach Blossom Desserts and mooncakes of various flavors were delivered to Wanliu Academy.

Lu Zhaoyang, being allergic to gluten, naturally wouldn't eat it, so he gave the snacks to the teacher and his fellow students.

As Ju Chao believed, anyone who ate Peach Blossom Desserts would become a die-hard fan.

As expected, after the students of Wanliu Academy finished their snacks, they all asked Lu Zhaoyang which pastry shop he had bought them from. After learning that it was Peach Blossom Desserts, they flocked to Pearl Lane.

Lu Zhaoyang deliberately didn't tell them the exact location of Peach Blossom Dessert Shop in Pearl Lane, so the students asked along the way, and Peach Blossom Dessert Shop quickly became known throughout Pearl Lane.

The students arrived at the shop only to find that Peach Blossom Dessert Shop was not yet open, which was quite disappointing.

When the students arrived, Master Song was teaching the bakers how to make pastries. The rich aroma wafted from the shop, whetting the students' appetites.

So he kept pestering He Chao to buy it.

Finally, He Chao sold the baked mooncakes to the students.

The next day, the students came to the shop again, and He Chao took the opportunity to announce the opening date of the shop and promised to make an exception and bake pastries to send to Wanliu Academy before the opening.

And just like that, Peach Blossom Desserts became a hit in Fucheng without spending a single penny on marketing.

Now at least half the people in the city know that a pastry shop called Peach Blossom Dessert is about to open in Pearl Lane.

There were also free samples on the opening day.

Everyone was eagerly waiting to come in and taste it, to see what kind of pastry could make the students of Wanliu Academy crave it so much. And what kind of families did the students of Wanliu Academy come from?

The snacks that the wealthy families in the prefectural city, and even the scions of prominent families in Shengjing, could keep craving must be incredibly delicious.

Some people are even prepared to cause trouble; if the pastries at Peach Blossom Desserts don't live up to their name, they'll make a scene.

"It really is the owner's good idea. Now many people in the city and the pastry shops are paying attention to our opening." He Chao told Tong Huaqiong about the situation over the past few days.

This initial publicity campaign has been a success.

We'll see how things go when it opens in two days.

Tong Huaqiong felt that there was no problem.

"Manager He, do you still have meat-filled mooncakes?"

Just then, someone shouted from the doorway into the room.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, "We haven't even opened for business yet, and we're already getting customers."

He Chao stood up and said to Tong Huaqiong with a smile, "The person who came is Lord Yao's steward."

Tong Huaqiong looked surprised; even the top official of Ningcheng, Prefect Yao, had come to show his support.

He Chao greeted Lord Yao's steward, Zhu, with a smile and said warmly, "Yes! It's kind of you, Lord Yao, to like meat-filled mooncakes."

Steward Zhu said, "I used to eat sweet ones, so it's kind of you to have savory ones that suit Lord Yao's taste. Lord Yao just came back from inspecting the autumn harvest and he wanted to eat your meat-filled mooncakes."

The meat-filled mooncakes that Prefect Yao received were not a gift from He Chao.

He Chao doesn't have enough power to become the top official in Fucheng.

The meat-filled mooncakes were a gift from Lu Zhaoyang. Prefect Yao thought they were delicious and asked Lu Zhaoyang for some more. Lu Zhaoyang said they were from Peach Blossom Desserts.

When Prefect Yao learned that Peach Blossom Dessert Shop had opened in Pearl Lane, he sent his steward to buy some.

Even if the business hasn't opened, He Chao still wants to keep an eye on Butler He.

This is the second time I've bought it.

Originally, in order to build hype for the opening, Peach Blossom Desserts was not intended for individual sale, except for supplying students of Wanliu Academy. The goal was to whet everyone's appetite until the opening day.

However, since Prefect Yao came to buy, He Chao made an exception and sold it.

He Chao personally wrapped the freshly baked meat-filled mooncakes and handed them to Butler Zhu, saying that they were for Lord Yao to eat as the Mid-Autumn Festival approached.

Steward Zhu said that if he took anything from the shop for free, Lord Yao would break his legs.

With a tug-of-war between the two, He Chao accepted the money, while Butler Zhu took the mooncakes and left.

"That's great! Even the prefect loves our pastries," Tong Huaqiong said with a smile.

This is excellent promotional material!

If this were modern times, Tong Huaqiong would love to take a picture of a prefect tasting peach blossom dessert mooncakes and put it up in the shop.

The lack of filming equipment in this era does not mean that Tong Huaqiong would let go of the opportunity to promote products through the prefect's endorsement.

Meat-filled mooncakes, which even the prefect loves to eat, are so tempting!

Mooncakes in this era are all sweet, so the sudden appearance of a savory one has already piqued everyone's curiosity.

Add to that the fact that the prefect loves to eat it, and how appealing that would be!

What kind of flavor does this meat-filled mooncake have that makes the Prefect so fond of it? We must buy one and try it!

Tong Huaqiong figured that since the prefect had delivered marketing material to her doorstep, she might as well make the most of it.

Moreover, she did nothing to damage the prefect's reputation; she neither bribed him nor used his name to make money. She was merely doing some marketing.

Tong Huaqiong used it without any remorse.