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

They really are all old foxes, let's not talk about ghost stories anymore, the other party's words also have hidden meanings.

"Brother Liu, Xiao Yi's publicly stated identity is his true identity; there is absolutely no concealment."

"Oh? Is that really so?" Liu Kexi held the glass without putting it down, tilting her head to look at Song Xiaoyi.

"What?!"

That "ma" was loaded with meaning, and Song Xiaoyi immediately understood! They must know his grandfather and parents! Damn it, what kind of identities have they made up!

In a flash, Song Xiaoyi decided to remain calm and let the other party fill in the blanks: "Xiaoyi came to the Ming Dynasty by boat from the west of the Western Regions, but his main purpose was not to open a shop."

"Xiao Yi came here following his grandfather and parents, but upon arriving in Yingtian Prefecture, he discovered that his grandfather and parents had vanished without a trace."

"I suppose Brother Liu should know some of the information Xiao Yi wants?"

Let's kick the ball back first and see how the other team reacts.

Liu Kexi did not answer immediately. He put down his wine glass, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of "Songfu Hand-Pounded Meat" and put it in his mouth. After chewing it a few times and savoring it for a moment, he swallowed it.

"Young Master Yi, your skill in making Song Family Hand-Pulled Meat is already on par with your grandfather's."

"!!!"

Just as I suspected! Song Xiaoyi suppressed his excitement, got up, and refilled the three glasses with beer.

Liu Kexi picked up his beer glass, took a few small sips, and said, "But this beer, your grandfather's brew is not as good as Brother Xiao Yi's."

If the other party wasn't a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Song Xiaoyi would have rushed over and tortured him. Get to the point!

Just as he had guessed what Song Xiaoyi was thinking, Liu Kexi replied with a smile, "Your grandfather and his two companions are in a very safe place, so you can rest assured, little brother Xiaoyi."

It's a very safe place. This safety is, of course, from the perspective of the ancients, or more directly from the perspective of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Where is it safe for a chef to stay?

"Royal...Royal dining room?"

Liu Kexi raised her hands and clapped gently.

"Come on, thank you for telling me, Brother Liu. I know that you took a risk by telling me this. Don't worry, Brother Liu, I'm a sensible person and I will never leak it. I'm at ease as long as I know that my grandfather and parents are still alive."

That was the truth. Knowing they were alive was enough. With Grandpa's skills and creativity, becoming the Grand Steward in the Imperial Kitchen would be a piece of cake. Moreover, Emperor Hongzhi, Zhu Youcheng, was a benevolent ruler. As long as Grandpa and the others didn't do anything reckless, their safety was indeed not a problem.

Once the conversation started, the atmosphere became more relaxed. The three of them ate, drank, and talked about opening a factory. Liu Kexi came over just to confirm how many disabled brothers and orphans of the Embroidered Uniform Guard could Song Xiaoyi recruit, and of course, possibly some orphans of loyal officials.

Song Xiaoyi immediately stated that he would do his best to meet the needs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In the Ming Dynasty, as long as you have money, you can open a factory as big as you want and hire as many people as you want.

Song Xiaoyi named the fast food factory "Song's Fast Food," and neither of them objected.

"Please wait a moment, brothers." Song Xiaoyi turned around and went to the back house, took out 10 silver coins, and brought them out on a large plate. "This is the capital to open Song's Fast Food. If it's not enough, there's more. Xiaoyi will provide the money, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard will provide the manpower. Let's get the Jubao Gate business up and running first."

"Every step of the process—procurement, production, packaging, and shipping—is handled entirely by the Imperial Guards!"

Liu Kexi looked at Song Xiaoyi, picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and remained silent. Mu Bin, standing beside him, chimed in, "Just Jubao Gate?"

"Brothers, Jubaomen is just the beginning. How can you sweep the world if you can't even sweep your own house? Only when Jubaomen is established and running smoothly can it be promoted to Yingtian Prefecture, and then to the entire Southern Zhili. Finally, if we have the strength and need, it is not impossible to promote it to the whole Ming Dynasty."

"Okay!" Liu Kexi finally spoke.

It seems he has big ambitions and was waiting for these words; or perhaps they have too many people to take care of and are already overwhelmed, urgently needing a way out.

How will the profits be distributed?

"It's all up to Brother Liu. If there's a profit, Xiao Yi can have 20%; if there's no profit, Xiao Yi can take 10%, or even nothing at all."

"You're willing to give up even a fraction? What do you want?"

"If I said I only wished to befriend you two, and to befriend the Imperial Guards, would you two believe me?"

"letter."

"Brother Mou trusts Xiao Yi that much?"

"Brother Xiao Yi is an exceptionally intelligent person."

"You might be that kind of person. I was involved in your entire deal with Master Huang."

"Oh, yes, that's true."

"Hahaha~"

"Our Song family is a large clan in the western regions and is not short of money. The family sent Xiao Yi's grandfather's branch to the Ming Dynasty only with the aim of expanding the family. Of course, it would be even better if we could open up trade routes between the two regions."

"Although merchants are driven by profit, Master Huang once said that I, Song Xiaoyi, am not a merchant."

Song Xiaoyi is indeed not a businessman.

I am the Great Chef of the Ming Dynasty!

The three of them drank until late at night, and completed all the communication and arrangements for opening Song's Fast Food and its sales.

The main force was naturally the families of the Imperial Guards. The women and children were responsible for childbirth, the disabled and retired brothers each had their own duties, the strong elderly were chosen to deliver goods, and the active Imperial Guards were responsible for covert protection...

As for Song Xiaoyi's restaurant, it will initially receive a minimum of two hundred fast food meals per day, with additional meals provided based on sales volume.

Song Xiaoyi had also made up his mind. The fast food delivered to the restaurant, two hundred portions, was not too many. He would deliver them to the second floor himself, and after they were placed there, the people he had recruited (Cao Pangzi's mother or unemployed neighbors) would take them to the market to sell.

The market has thousands of merchants, and countless vendors come every day to buy wholesale goods. These people are major consumers of fast food meals, eating two meals a day. With the ingredients from the Ming Dynasty, the fast food will sell out easily, Song Xiaoyi is very confident.

As for the ingredients, Song Xiaoyi used the system space to transport them to secret locations and change them according to needs, which was definitely something that Mu Bin couldn't know about.

All the trouble was actually for the rational allocation of funds.

After seeing Liu Kexi and Mou Bin off, Song Xiaoyi saw that Song Yunqiu and Xiao Shifu were asleep and the ferry had stopped running. It wasn't appropriate to row his own boat to the other side, so he simply went back to his room to sleep.

It was my first time sleeping in a Ming Dynasty bed, and I wasn't used to the carved hardwood bed. I just couldn't fall asleep.

Knowing that his grandfather and parents were still alive was truly good news. The three of them were trapped in the palace, which caused their mission to fail and prevent them from returning. He couldn't repeat the same mistake.

As for how they got to the palace, Liu Kexi didn't say, and Song Xiaoyi didn't feel comfortable asking too much, but at least it shouldn't have been their own initiative to go.

Were they arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Based on his intuition, Song Xiaoyi judged that it didn't seem likely. If it were the Embroidered Uniform Guard who made the move, it wouldn't make sense for Liu Kexi to cooperate with him.

There's probably more to the story than meets the eye. We can ask once we've gotten to know each other better; there's no rush.