Chapter 215: They Can't Copy the Essence of Guang‑style!

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, Chen Yan, exhausted from the journey by boat and carriage, did not rush back to his quarters to rest.

Instead, he led Dantai Mingyue and Liu Mu Zhi alone into the Shufang.

"Mingyue, how is the pilot at Chunman Lou going?" he said, sitting in the main seat, looking at Dantai Mingyue.

Before departing Chang'an for Jingzhou, the girl (technician) was still in training.

Therefore, the matter of opening the business was fully entrusted to Xiao Lajiao.

"Far beyond Young Master's expectations..."

Dantai Mingyue, hearing this, her flushed face from the wine, said softly, "Guang-style, once launched at Chunman Lou, immediately became a sensation in Chang'an!"

She paused, recalling the scene before Chunman Lou's entrance, and continued, "At one point it was overcrowded, and even gave rise to a profession where people would queue outside the building before dawn to earn a spread."

Chang'an is the capital of Great Zhou, full of nobles and wealthy merchants, while Chunman Lou's capacity to receive guests is limited.

Thus it inevitably spawned the "queue proxy" kind of "scalper"...

The emergence of this phenomenon alone proves that the Guang-style pilot was a great success!

"As long as it's smooth..."

Chen Yan nodded, not particularly surprised; after all, those were market‑tested in later times, and copying them still carries a fresh appeal, so the boom was inevitable, and he asked, "How is the training of the other Qinglou Goulan girls progressing?"

Evidently, the tasks Chen Yan assigned before leaving included not only the Guang-style pilot but also systematic training for other "branch stores".

Once the Chunman Lou pilot succeeded, they could immediately begin copying and spreading Guang-style far and wide...

He intends to swallow the entire market!

The economic base determines the superstructure; after amassing enough silver, the subsequent schemes can unfold smoothly...

Dantai Mingyue lightly pressed her red lips and said, "According to Young Master's plan, after the Chunman Lou pilot succeeds, we will push forward across all of Chang'an without pause..."

"In another half month, we can start opening successively!"

"The club that Deputy Envoy Song oversaw constructing is now fully completed..."

Dantai Mingyue executed Chen Yan's directives without any deviation.

And the Zhuque Guard personnel left in Chang'an also devoted themselves wholeheartedly to cooperate...

They all understood how great the profit could be.

They also knew that once it succeeded, their master's temperament would never mistreat them.

"Very good!"

Chen Yan, extremely satisfied, gave a calm smile and said, "You've worked hard these past days..."

"Just watching over it daily isn't really hard..."

Dantai Mingyue shook her head, as if recalling something, her fine brows slightly furrowed, and said, "After Chunman Lou's success, many imitators have sprung up in Chang'an!"

Her words were full of worry.

A few days after Chunman Lou's boom, imitators also branding themselves as "Guang-style" sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, competing with the genuine brand for business...

Dantai Mingyue was very worried that the good coins were being driven out by the bad ones.

"No problem, we needn't worry about them..."

Chen Yan, unfazed, waved his hand casually, and confidently declared, "They can't copy the essence of Guang-style!"

What is the key to the service industry?

It's service!

The girls (technicians) under his command have all undergone systematic training; their methods and techniques are honed through countless refinements in later ages, and they are subject to strict assessment mechanisms.

And those imitative "bad coins" not only fail to divert customers, but by contrast with their inferior methods, they actually cause more nobles and wealthy merchants to willingly spend at the genuine establishment...

Of course, Chen Yan isn't afraid of those girls jumping ship; besides holding their contracts, each only knows a portion of Guang-style, and he has a safeguard in place.

Having listened to the whole discussion, Liu Mu Zhi was confused and couldn't understand, and couldn't help but ask, "Master, what exactly is this Guang-style you speak of?"

At that moment, Liu Mu Zhi even wondered whether his own ignorance was to blame, as he had never heard the term "Guang-style" before...

Chen Yan leaned back in his chair, waved lightly, and ordered, "Mingyue, go fetch all the relevant items..."

"Let Mu Zhi have a look!"

Dantai Mingyue nodded, moved at once, hurried to another shelf in the Shufang, retrieved the items, and said, "Mr. Liu, here you go!"

She said this while cupping a thick stack of documents in both hands and handing them to Liu Mu Zhi.

Among them were ledgers, personnel lists, management mechanisms, review mechanisms, and posture manuals...

Liu Mu Zhi, his curiosity piqued, took it, opened the topmost book, and was stunned by the image, his mind roiling: "This... this... isn't this a spring palace illustration?!"

At that moment, he was completely dumbfounded.

But after the shock, he quickly calmed, opened the next ledger, swiftly scanned each number, murmuring, "No, that's not right—how can the daily customer count and profit be this high?!"

While he had just heard the master converse with the Mingyue girl, Liu Mu Zhi already formed a preliminary mental model of Guang-style's money‑making power...

Yet when he saw the actual ledgers, he realized how shallow his understanding had been!

That's more than just making money!

It's practically a money‑tree!

Moreover, this is only the Chunman Lou family's...

Chen Yan took in Liu Mu Zhi's expression, yawned, looked at Dantai Mingyue, and ordered, "Mingyue, from today onward, hand over the Guang-style matters in your hands to Mu Zhi..."

He's brought it back to use; you can't just keep him idle feeding him plain rice, right?

Coincidentally, Chen Yan also wanted to see just how outstanding this so‑called Jingzhou prodigy's abilities were...

"Yes." Dantai Mingyue replied without hesitation, nodding.

Chen Yan, seeing Liu Mu Zhi's delayed response, pursed his lips and asked, "Mu Zhi, is there something troubling you that keeps you silent?"

"Nothing!"

Liu Mu Zhi snapped back to his senses and blurted out.

He paused briefly, considered a moment, then continued: "It's just that Shuyi doesn't understand why there are so many girls' names on this register?"

Overseeing the subsequent expansion and management of the "Guan‑style", for Liu Mu Zhi it is not a difficult task.

But what puzzled him immensely was that such a massive list of girls would soon cover all of Chang'an, wouldn't it?

How on earth did our own master gather them?

Chen Yan heard this, raised an eyebrow, and calmly smiled: "Because the authority to regulate the Qinglou in Chang'an has already been granted to me by the Grand Tomb Governor!"

This was still from his return after quelling the rebellion in Qinzhou; he wanted nothing else, only the reward…

All of Chang'an's Qinglou? If they were all opened at once, what terrifying profit would that bring? …………Liu Mu Zhi was startled, a wave of turmoil surged in his heart, he swallowed hard, then steadied himself, clasped his fists, bowed and said: "Master, rest assured!"

"Shuyi will certainly not disappoint you!"

At that moment, Liu Mu Zhi felt the master's unfathomable depth…

Previously he had only glimpsed a fragment of his iceberg.

Just the opening of the Guan‑style across all of Chang'an would keep one busy for a while.

"Alright, go back and rest early!"

Chen Yan waved his hand: "Someone will come to coordinate with you tomorrow…"

"Yes."

"Then Shuyi will take his leave for now…"

Liu Mu Zhi performed a bow, then hurried out of the Shufang.

When the door closed, Chen Yan rose leisurely, lifted Dantai Mingyue's chin with his fingertip, and chuckled, "My little Mingyue!"

"What?" A slightly tipsy Dantai Mingyue trembled and drew back.

"You mention the hour; a lone man and a lone woman sharing a room—what else can we do?" Chen Yan smiled wryly, hoisted Xiao Lajiao sideways, teasingly, "Of course we can do something lovers do!"

"This is the Shufang; don't act rashly!" Dantai Mingyue raised a hand, gently nudged the pervert's chest, and said shyly.

Chen Yan licked his lips and grinned mischievously, "Isn't this a perfect chance to try?"

Da Feng Tai Restaurant.

The top pavilion, encircled by vermilion lacquered corridors, hung bronze coiled‑dragon wind chimes at its four corners; when the wind blew, their tinkling blended with the market sounds below.

Half‑drawn golden‑silk Xiangfei bamboo curtains enclosed an eight‑zhang square terrace in soft light and shadow; on the sandalwood long desk, the Bo Mountain stove emitted curling blue smoke, mingling with the fruity aroma of iced sour plum soup and the fresh scent of newly cut crystal meat, drifting in the sunset that filtered through the carved wooden lattice windows.

In the corner, on a display shelf, a blue‑and‑white porcelain bottle with ice‑crack patterns held a half‑wilting peony, while a gilt hollowed incense sphere hung lightly swaying between the beams.

Gao Jiong, dressed in moon‑white silk, filled a night‑glow cup with wine, "In four more days, Ah Gong, you will become Dugu Gong's dragon‑riding son‑in‑law!"

"Congratulations indeed!"

Gao Jiong, son of the Scholar‑Official Gao Bing, and a schoolmate friend of Yang Gong.

Dugu Zhang took over the conversation, also filled his cup, and laughed, "My dear brother‑in‑law, on the day of the grand wedding, we will become one family!"

"Come on!"

"Do!"

Yang Gong, who was being congratulated, also raised his cup, clinked them together, and the three drank in one gulp.

Gao Jiong, feeling a bit tipsy, swayed, placed his hand on Yang Gong's shoulder, and laughed, "Ah Gong, your grand wedding truly excited that Grand Tomb Governor…"

"He can't wait to arrange his lackey to marry Pei Suiwan of the Pei Clan, trying to steal your spotlight!"

Yang Gong chuckled lightly and sighed, "Speaking of Chen Yan, he really is impressive…"

"After quelling the rebellion in Qinzhou, then suppressing bandits in Jingzhou, he was promoted to Director of the Bright Mirror Office and even made Champion General!"

"I really wonder if the Duke of Wei regrets it…"

While the three were discussing Chen Yan, a young waiter carrying a tray entered: "Young Masters, your fresh shrimp foot braised southern fried eel!"

"Hmm?"

Dugu Zhang was startled, asking in doubt, "We didn't order any fresh shrimp foot braised southern fried eel!"

Meanwhile, Feng Yu, Yang Gong's guard, stared at the young waiter, keenly sensing something off: "There's murderous intent!"

——

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