Xu Jinxin shook her head with a smile.
“Come, take a look. What do you see across the street?” Xu Jinxin pointed toward the buildings outside.
Duoduo and Lüdou stared out in confusion.
Outside the shop was the main street. Farther away stood row upon row of houses.
“People?” Lüdou noticed the people peeking out curiously.
Duoduo glanced hesitantly at Xu Jinxin. She didn’t think Xu Jinxin would ask such an obvious question.
Xu Jinxin smiled. “That’s right! People!”
“Look carefully. What kinds of people are here?”
Lüdou was thrilled by Xu Jinxin’s praise and hurriedly answered, “There are lots of madams and young ladies, as well as the shopkeepers and assistants from the nearby stores.”
Xu Jinxin nodded. “Anything else?”
Duoduo’s eyes swept over the men dressed in long robes.
“There are students too! There must be an academy nearby!”
Xu Jinxin approvingly stroked Duoduo’s hair.
“Exactly!”
“The customers for a pastry shop are the people outside.”
“I took a look just now. There are two academies across the street.”
“Think about it. What sort of families can afford to send their children to school in the capital?”
“Rich young masters!” Lüdou exclaimed excitedly.
“Exactly!” Xu Jinxin patiently explained it to them. “These discounted pastries are meant to attract customers and create buzz for the grand opening.”
“We’ll only sell a limited number each day. Once they’re gone, we won’t make any more.”
“That way, the shop’s overall image won’t be cheapened.”
“If I’m not mistaken, the students from those two academies will become your biggest customers!”
After looking around, Xu Jinxin was extremely confident about the prospects of Duoduo’s pastry shop.
Duoduo and Lüdou exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with excitement.
This wasn’t Duoduo’s first shop, but it was one that belonged entirely to her and Lüdou.
“I’ll go back and draw the sign for the entrance!” Duoduo was filled with motivation.
“I... I’ll go back and study the pastries!” Lüdou hurriedly replied.
Duoduo took Lüdou’s hand. Both their eyes were brimming with hope.
“All right, that’s enough. Let’s go back.”
After looking over everything, Xu Jinxin urged Duoduo to return to the residence.
Duoduo nodded, turning back reluctantly to take one more look at the shop.
“Let’s go.” Having made up her mind, she turned and walked out.
By the time they had all come outside, Shitou had finished locking up the shop.
A round-faced middle-aged woman from the neighboring store poked her head out.
“Madam, what kind of business are you planning to run in this shop?”
Xu Jinxin calmly sized her up. She had noticed earlier that the woman had come out of the shop next door.
Xu Jinxin glanced at it. It was a rouge and cosmetics shop.
She put on a warm smile. “We’ll be opening in a couple of days. You’ll find out then.”
“We’ll be neighbors, after all. You must come and support us when we open!”
The round-faced woman immediately understood that the new shop would be selling something different from her own.
Her smile grew even warmer.
“Of course! I’ll definitely come to support you!”
Xu Jinxin took Duoduo and Lüdou by the hand. “We still have something to do, so we’ll be going now!”
Xu Jinxin led Duoduo onto the carriage.
Duoduo’s gaze stopped at a shop not far away.
“Aunt Xu, look! There’s a pastry shop over there!”
Duoduo pointed at the shop, worry evident in her eyes.
Xu Jinxin leaned out to take a look, then smiled.
“That’s wonderful!”
When Xu Jinxin said this, Duoduo looked puzzled.
“Look, this location is excellent.”
“If there wasn’t even a single pastry shop here, that would actually be strange.”
“Look at the cosmetics shops. There are two or three of them.”
“And there are several cloth shops too.”
Duoduo followed Xu Jinxin’s gesture.
Sure enough, there were several shops selling the same kinds of goods.
“Aunt Xu, why is it a good thing that there’s another pastry shop here?”
Some of Duoduo’s worries faded, but she still wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Xu Jinxin patted Duoduo’s head and called out through the carriage window, “Lüdou, go buy some of the pastries you think look good.”
“Yes.”
Lüdou, who was outside the carriage, had heard their conversation and was worried as well.
She quickly walked toward the shop.
Xu Jinxin lifted the carriage window curtain and studied the street outside.
The people who had gathered around their shop earlier had gradually dispersed.
Before long, Lüdou returned carrying several paper parcels.
“Madam Li, Your Highness, I took a look around and bought several of their best-selling items.”
“Oh, and this one is their signature pastry!”
Lüdou opened one of the paper parcels.
A delicious fragrance filled the carriage.
The pastries had been shaped like lotus flowers, each one decorated with a red mark on top.
Lüdou had bought three of them.
“Let’s all try one and see how their signature pastry tastes.”
Xu Jinxin picked one up first and carefully took a bite.
Mm. Not bad.
After tasting it, Xu Jinxin couldn’t help nodding.
Once Xu Jinxin and Duoduo had each taken a piece, Lüdou didn’t start eating. Instead, she watched their expressions.
When she saw the approval on Xu Jinxin’s face, a hint of anxiety arose in her heart.
She hurriedly turned to Duoduo.
Duoduo took a bite and savored it carefully.
Back at the Department of Justice, the three of them had sampled the pastries Xiao Che brought and exchanged their opinions.
Duoduo was now able to describe her impressions with great precision.
“It’s crisp and flaky, and it makes a mess of crumbs when you eat it. It’s very fragrant, and there’s filling inside.”
“It’s a fluffy red-bean filling, with just the right amount of sweetness.”
“People who like sweet things and people who don’t should both find it acceptable.”
Duoduo put the pastry into her mouth and swallowed it before giving her final assessment.
“Lüdou, I think this one doesn’t look as pretty as the pastries in the palace.”
“As for the taste, it’s about equal to the palace pastries.”
“If you can recreate all the palace styles, you’ll definitely surpass them!”
Hearing this, Lüdou immediately regained her confidence.
She picked up a pastry and took a small bite.
After swallowing, Lüdou was filled with confidence.
“Your Highness, I can make them!”
Xu Jinxin paused, then smiled in clear appreciation.
Youth really was wonderful.
The young were fearless!
“Let’s take a look at the others. Didn’t you say these were also best-sellers?”
Xu Jinxin opened another paper parcel. When she saw one of the items inside, she glanced at Lüdou.
Lüdou nodded with a smile. “I saw that they sold mung bean cakes, so I bought some while I was there.”
“The shop assistant said they sell quite well.”
Duoduo’s eyes lit up as she scanned the several paper parcels.
The pastries were all familiar everyday varieties: mung bean cakes, osmanthus cakes, chestnut cakes...
Xu Jinxin picked up a mung bean cake and put it into her mouth.
The mung bean flavor wasn’t very strong. It seemed they hadn’t added much mung bean paste.
It was far inferior to the pastries Lüdou made.
“How much do they cost? Are they expensive or cheap?”
