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

After arranging everything, Song Xiaoyi went upstairs, found a bicycle without an electronic lock, and smoothly passed through the kitchen to the first floor. Then, under the puzzled gazes of everyone, he rode the bicycle to the "Song's Fast Food" production base outside Jubao Gate.

After inspecting the "Song's Fast Food" production base, teaching the chef a few new dishes, and giving the children some substantial encouragement—a few coins of questionable quality—Song Xiaoyi finally found Mu Bin at the "kitchen waste" processing station in the back.

"Brother Mou, you're a junior officer in the Imperial Guard, after all," Song Xiaoyi said, glancing around to make sure no one was watching, and that only Mou Bin was working. "You're doing this yourself; aren't you supposed to be doing everything else?"

"Brother Xiao Yi, this is a very important matter for Bin. It was entrusted to him by Commander Qianhu. This is the support of thousands of brothers in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. How can we talk about personally ensuring the livelihood of our own brothers? You don't know, Commander Qianhu personally delivers fast food."

"Oh, and by the way, Brother Yi, I forgot to tell you, I've been promoted to centurion."

"A junior officer promoted directly to centurion? No need to report to the commander?"

"Bin was originally a probationary centurion, but because he handled his duties so well, the commander of the thousand specially requested the commander to promote him to a higher rank. The commander of the thousand told me to focus on managing this place well, and as you said, to set an example first, and then promote it to the whole of Yingtian Prefecture next month."

"You're taking too big a step; don't overdo it. It's only been a few days, and you're already thinking about expansion?"

"Alas, Brother Yi, it's not that I'm anxious, it's that Commander Qianhu is anxious. It's true, alas, to be honest, the Embroidered Uniform Guard brothers in the capital and other places are having a hard time!"

"What, you've calculated the costs and profits for Song's Fast Food?"

"That's a natural calculation. After deducting all the wages owed to family members, selling a fast food meal to Lu Wen yields a net profit of two coins."

"Low profit, high volume, it really is a profitable business."

"This doesn't even include the income from feeding pigs and chickens with swill, broken rice, and vegetable scraps."

A fast food restaurant can support an entire industry chain. In addition to profits, the pigs, chickens and ducks raised can enter the fast food cycle again when they are slaughtered, thus reducing costs. At least the families and orphans have a livelihood and a hope for the future.

Everyone has a job. Even disabled people who were once looked down upon and unpopular children can now find work. No wonder Liu Kexi is anxious.

What are your thoughts, Brother Liu?

"Lord Chitoge wants to establish a model as quickly as possible, the whole system you mentioned... what was it again?"

"The entire process is replicable."

"Yes, the whole process can be replicated! It's a brilliant idea, all the other centurions say so."

"Have you considered the many difficulties and limitations involved?"

"Lord Chiju has gone through countless rehearsals. From cooking, packing, boxing to delivery, Lord Chiju has personally handled everything."

"These are not problems. As long as you have vegetables and salt, and follow my recipe, the food won't taste bad."

"Boxing and packing isn't difficult once you get the hang of it."

"Delivering food isn't difficult as long as you have legs and are willing to run."

"Food hygiene, quality control, and the takeout containers are the real challenges."

"No, none of these are difficult."

"Oh? These aren't problems? Brother Mou, why don't you explain in detail?" It's not difficult. I'd like to see what alternative solutions you can come up with.

"First, let's talk about the containers for serving rice and dishes. In Yingtian Prefecture, we have fast food boxes provided by my brother, which are convenient and quick. If we expand this to other regions where fast food boxes are unavailable, could we use fast food bowls instead?"

"A fast food bowl?"

"Brother, come with me."

Mu Bin pulled Song Xiaoyi back into the courtyard and found the warehouse where the fast food boxes were stored. "Fast food bowls" Song Xiaoyi saw the samples. Some bowls had crooked bottoms, uneven rims, and mottled glazes. She was a little amused and exasperated.

"My dear brother, look at these bowls. We call them fast food bowls. The requirement for fast food bowls is that they are cheap. These are all defective products made by various official kilns and private kilns. They should all be smashed and buried directly, but smashing and burying them would take too much manpower. Commander, what do you think? Collect all these defective products, wash them clean, and use them as fast food bowls."

"One customer, three bowls? And they're not recycled after use?"

"Yes, the initial plan is three bowls per guest: one for rice and two for vegetables. The delivery fee is seven coins, and if you bring the bowls back, you only need to pay five coins. The disabled guest's family will be responsible for washing the bowls they bring back. What do you think, brother?"

"If we can't get them back, it's like selling three bowls for two coins, so we're not losing money, right?"

"Absolutely."

"This method is ingenious, but how many can be delivered at once? What if some are spilled along the way?"

"My dear brother, look, make a bamboo clasp for each bowl. Many craftsmen can make these near the bamboo grove to the south..."

How to put it? Liu Kexi, the commander of the Imperial Guard in Yingtian Prefecture, was able to deduce this, which shows that he put in a lot of effort. It was a brilliant idea, but it was limited by the times.

If I gave him the bicycle, I reckon he could make one by hand in no time.

"Why don't you just copy this fast food container?"

"How could we not have considered it? Lord Qianhu's first thought was to replicate this fast food box, but he searched for countless bamboo craftsmen, all of whom said it was difficult. Even if he succeeded, he could only make one a day, and the cost would be at least 10 coins."

This is indeed a difficult problem. Forget about getting a lathe; pure hand-made imitation is definitely not an option. And it's unrealistic to expect one person to provide enough fast food boxes for the entire Ming Dynasty.

From this perspective, Liu Kexi's idea is currently the most practical solution.

Fast food needs to be quick and cheap, otherwise who will eat it?

"Brother Mou, please reply to Brother Liu that the other regions should follow your plan. As for the fast food boxes needed in Yingtian Prefecture, Xiao Yi can still supply them."

"Brother, actually, Commander Qian has another idea..."

"Xiao Yi guesses that this must be what you were thinking before: it's a waste to throw away these fast food containers after one use, so why not recycle them for one penny, wash them clean, and reuse them in other areas, right?"

"I can't control that, you can use it. But it really needs to be washed clean. My only requirement is that the boxes provided to my restaurant must be new."

People in ancient times were frugal, and their desire to recycle old items was hard to shake. In fact, before this, Song Xiaoyi often saw people buying old fast food boxes at the dock, and he could only turn a blind eye to it.

"Come, Brother Mou, I've brought you a new treasure."

Since bicycles can enter the Ming Dynasty, then we won't be polite!

Song Xiaoyi's idea was to first equip the Imperial Guards with these items, and then equip the delivery personnel with them, in order to expand the speed and scope of delivery.

Song Xiaoyi taught Mu Bin how to ride a bicycle, but Mu Bin wobbled left and right as if he were walking on cotton, and just couldn't learn it. In the end, even the little kids watching the fun on the side could learn it, but he still couldn't.

Is this thing really that hard to learn?

Isn't having legs all you need?

"I'll give you this bicycle for now, you can learn to ride it slowly. I'll go back and have my family send over a batch as soon as possible."