In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

After leaving Fatty Cao's Hanfu shop, Song Xiaoyi went to the tool section in the back to buy tools and self-defense weapons. Forget about guns; the Confucius Temple Market only sells decorative knives. If you want a sharpened knife, you'll have to find someone to make it privately.

Of course, Song Xiaoyi wasn't going to ancient times to fight and kill, but just to be on the safe side and get some self-defense tools. He also bought a few shovels and other digging and climbing tools.

After buying the tools and leaving the market, Song Xiaoyi took a taxi directly to Daming Road to buy a car.

After Song Xiaoyi left, Fatty Cao was still sorting the copper coins. Only after he finished did he realize, "Am I stupid? Why did I wait until tonight to ask? I could have just made a phone call!"

After making a call to his old man, Fatty Cao then called Song Xiaoyi, who was in a taxi when he received the call.

The information Cao Pangzi provided is that the pastry factory in Yuhua District is looking for a buyer. If Song Xiaoyi is interested, he can go and take a look at it anytime.

Song Xiaoyi decided that it was better to act sooner rather than later, and quickly pick up the car and money, and then take Uncle Cao to the Yuhua Noodle Factory.

In the end, Song Xiaoyi chose a large, sturdy, and readily available domestic SUV. The key was that it was in stock, so he could withdraw the money from the bank after completing the formalities.

For security reasons, the bank arranged for Song Xiaoyi to park his car inside the courtyard. The money was loaded onto the car in bundles through the back door. Song Xiaoyi didn't have time to count it or listen to the bank manager's nagging. After loading, he immediately set off, turning into a quiet alley and quickly putting the ten million into his personal space, exchanging it for 40 large silver ingots to save space.

It's very close to Cao Pangzi's house from the bank. After picking up Uncle Cao at the door, we set off. There wasn't much to see at the noodle factory. The size and scale looked quite satisfactory. Song Xiaoyi didn't have the time or energy to argue, so he directly decided to take over the Yuhua Noodle Factory. He coaxed Uncle Cao into becoming the factory manager, giving him the right to manage the factory and appoint or dismiss personnel. All I wanted were the finished products, clean and fresh finished products.

Song Xiaoyi's address to the factory workers was also very direct: "To put it simply, I only have one requirement: I can randomly sample any food produced in the factory at any time, and each of you can take it to feed your own children without hesitation! If even one person fails to do this, the entire factory will be fired, and I will replace them."

Uncle Cao was a neighbor who had watched him grow up, so Song Xiaoyi trusted him completely. After signing the contract, he immediately transferred three million to Uncle Cao's account. "Uncle, you can arrange all the subsequent procedures yourself. I only need the food. After the buns are produced, store them in the factory's cold storage. For instant noodles, compressed biscuits, and dried meat, just use the simplest white cardboard packaging bags. No markings are needed."

"Huh? Xiao Yi, you're just handing this factory over to me like this?"

"Right? You watched me grow up, and Fatty is my childhood friend. What's there to worry about? Also, you're the factory manager now. Take some time to buy a car so it'll be more convenient to travel back and forth. Also, get the factory a small refrigerated transport vehicle; I'll need it later."

......

After chatting with Uncle Cao, it was already dark. Song Xiaoyi found a large supermarket and prepared some food and water for himself. Considering that plastic bags and plastic bottles might not be allowed in the Ming Dynasty, Song Xiaoyi bought all the food in bulk at the supermarket. He bought all the drinking water in glass bottles, along with his favorite canned yellow peaches, which, together with the silver ingots, filled a cubic space.

Back at the small restaurant, I tidied up the second floor and decided to close it down altogether. Operating both sides was simply too much work. Modern people are too clever; if I hire someone, the secret of this kitchen will be exposed sooner or later.

The empty space on the second floor was simply filled with freezers and refrigerators to store alcohol, steamed buns, and instant noodles, serving the first floor.

However, Song Xiaoyi hasn't decided what to sell in the Ming Dynasty yet. His initial idea is to go to the Ming Dynasty to see what ingredients he can buy, and use the ingredients from the Ming Dynasty as a basis. Otherwise, if he sells instant noodles every day, the source of ingredients will also be a problem.

......

Before going to bed, the ingredients to be sold to Daming were replenished again from Zhu'er's small supermarket across the street.

Call Lao Song to check the system.

[Song Family Heritage System]

[Goal: To become the Great Chef of the Ming Dynasty 1000]

[Current Level: Low-class eatery]

[Song Family Recipe: 0/10 (Beginner)]

[Host's Original Dish: 0/10 (Beginner)]

[Song's Dish Selection: 0/10 (Beginner)]

[Two-way ingredient interaction: 7/10/0 (Beginner)]

[Two-way food interaction: 998/1000/0 (Beginner)]

Art Appraisal: 4/10 (Beginner)

[Restaurant Auxiliary Space: 3 cubic meters]

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The next morning, Song's Restaurant opened for business on time.

"Oh dear, shopkeeper, you weren't open yesterday afternoon, so nothing tasted good to us." Zhu Zhishan pulled the three of them in first and complained as soon as he entered.

"Brother Zhishan, what did you eat before our shop opened?"

"Well, it's because I haven't eaten at your restaurant before. Once I've tried your food, other restaurants just taste bland and tasteless."

"Brother Zhishan, you can't say this outside, or it'll make our shop go out of business."

"That's true, I know, I know."

That's all there is to human relationships and social interactions.

"Brother Zhishan, what about the time you said you'd help me find a hanger-on?"

"We're already inquiring, and we should get a response soon."

"Looks like we'll have to hold on for another day or two."

As they were talking, Song Xiaoyi had already cooked four servings of instant noodles, changed the flavor, added half a serving for each person, and added an extra egg to each person.

"Shopkeeper, the 'Chicken Pecking Rice' painting is here, please take a look. And the shop sign that your brother Wenbi wrote for you is also here."

Song Xiaoyi first unfolded the Xuan paper with the shop sign written on it. Sure enough, it read "Song Family Heritage Restaurant" and was signed "Wenbi". It also had a seal, and the font was exactly the same as the one hanging on the second floor of his own house.

As for the "Chicken Pecking Rice" painting, Song Xiaoyi casually took it to the kitchen, then went upstairs to the second floor, where he appraised it all and put it into his spatial storage along with the shop sign and Xuan paper.

Back on the first floor, the shop started to get busy, but everyone was buying steamed buns. After finishing her work, Song Xiaoyi went out to check what fresh ingredients were available at Taoye Ferry Wharf. As soon as she stepped out, she saw the same two people from yesterday.

Whether it's a blessing or a curse, there's no escaping it. Song Xiaoyi decided to take the initiative to make contact and see what kind of person they were.

"May I ask how I should address you, my esteemed superiors?"

One of them was surprised, but remained calm. "It seems the shopkeeper noticed us observing him yesterday?"

One of them was the deputy commissioner of the tax office at Jubao Gate (Zhonghua Gate) in Yingtian Prefecture, and the other was the deputy commissioner of the patrol office. They were both of the lowest rank, and were one of the miscellaneous officials in the Ming Dynasty. To put it bluntly, they were city management officers and tax collectors.

Song Xiaoyi was very glad that he had taken the initiative to contact the other party. It seemed that he had been too nervous and overthinking things. At least the other party was not a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, if contact is made too late, the other party will eventually find a handle to use against them, which will first confirm the "selling without purchasing goods" practice. But since it is only the second day of business, it can be explained that a batch of raw materials was purchased before the opening.

The first person to notice the newly opened shop was the tax official, as the shop had not been registered.

Then, a customer complained to the inspector that although the noodles at the small shop were fragrant, they were expensive. Even if they were expensive, the mushroom and chicken stew noodles had no mushrooms or chicken in them!