Chapter Fifteen A Group of Young Local Tyrants

  It wasn't even noon on the second day yet, and there were already customers rushing into the store.

  Many people came to see the original poem of "Shui Diao Ge Tou", and some were guests who came yesterday. After the shock of "Shui Diao Ge Tou" passed, these people finally remembered that the dishes at Hongchen Guest House are really delicious.

  The Hongchen Guest House is bustling again, this time Song Kai highly recommends his store's membership card.

  One or two gold coins can be exchanged for a VIP card at the Red Dust Guest Shop. With this VIP card, you can get a 10% discount when dining, and if it's your birthday or a family member's birthday, the shop will also give you free longevity noodles.

  Xue Weihai sat by the window, while Song Kai was enthusiastically persuading him. "Mr. Xue, now this VIP card is free, which means that after paying one or two gold coins at once, the amount in the card will be one or two gold coins. In the future, when you come to the store to eat, you won't need to pay cash, and you can also enjoy discounts and various preferential activities. If you pay ten gold coins at once, you can become a supreme member of this store, with more discounts, and every month after our store introduces new dishes, you can taste them for free."

  Xue Wei Hai was initially puzzled, but then figured out the key point of this membership card system. At first glance, it seems to be very beneficial for customers and detrimental to the store. However, upon closer analysis, it is actually a disguised bundling tactic. Moreover, this mechanism can attract more customers and create a virtuous cycle.

  Having thought this through, Xue Weihai let out a sigh. "Song Kai, Song Kai, it seems I underestimated you earlier. With this system in place, your Red Dust Inn will be hard-pressed to decline."

  Song Kai smiled and said, "Old Xue, you're short on funds lately, why don't you get a Supreme Card? I think you're definitely someone with status, ten taels of gold isn't too much, right?"

  Xue Wei Hai was speechless for a moment, then nodded, "I always feel like I've been deceived by this cunning little fox."

  "How is that?" Song Kai laughed happily, "Wait for two more days, and I'll go with you to the outskirts of the city to Taihu Lake to see the tea leaves. Ah, Taihu, yes, it should be called Taihu."

  "Alright, I was just about to call you too," Xue Weihai nodded, "For the sake of tea leaves, I'll get a... a Supreme Card or something. This name seems quite irreverent, haha."

  Two people chatted and laughed for a while, the hotel business got better and better, Song Kai couldn't help but personally help entertain guests, and took the opportunity to promote his VIP card.

  There are many people eating, but not many buying cards. Mainly because this system has never been promoted before, and suddenly handing over one or two gold coins is equivalent to five thousand wen, which feels a bit insecure.

  At noon, Song Kai stood in front of the counter and said loudly: "The VIP card system is a preferential activity launched by our store when it first opened. Mainly because our store has just opened, the funds are circulating somewhat difficult, so there is this discount. After three days, after our store's funds circulation returns to normal, the VIP card will no longer be free of charge, and the minimum amount will also be increased. Please cherish the opportunity now."

  Everyone in the hotel was talking about it and trying to figure out what Song Kai was up to.

  A voice came from the private room on the second floor, "Boss, come over here and handle ten VIP cards."

  Song Kai looked up and saw that the speaker was indeed Sun Xi Mei. It turned out that today she had brought a group of young men and women to eat and drink again.

  "Wow, Sun Niangzi, you guys really made a big profit this time. I only prepared 100 VIP cards in advance," Song Kai said while letting Nie Lingdang take out ten square wooden plaques with silver leaves embedded on them, the whole thing painted gold, looking quite dignified.

  Upon arriving at the marked room, they collected the gold and carved each person's name on a wooden board. They also told each person a secret word, which served as a password. This way, even if someone with a VIP card dropped it and others picked it up, they wouldn't be able to use the copper coins stored in the Hongchen Inn.

  "Hey, little shopkeeper, is this your idea?" asked a round-faced woman sitting next to Sun Ximei with a smile. She had very fair skin and looked about 14 or 15 years old, wearing men's clothes, which made her look even more adorable and plump.

  Song Kai glanced at the girl and said, "Pay first, I'll tell you after you pay."

  "'Money ghost!' The little girl burst out laughing, and the other boys and girls also laughed loudly. Two of them even temporarily gave 10 taels of gold to directly process the Supreme Card."

  Song Kai looked at Sun Xi Mei with a puzzled expression and smiled: "Where did you get so many little local tyrants?"

  "What a tyrant!" Sun Ximei was seriously registering, making everyone hand over their gold. Those who didn't have any on them borrowed from each other.

  "It means rich and powerful," Song Kai laughed.

  Sun Ximei glared at Song Kai, "You and your nonsense terms, enough! You see this clearly, these are twenty-eight taels of gold. I'm telling you, don't even think about closing this shop, or else I won't let you off easy with these twenty-eight taels of gold!"

  Song Kai laughed and said, "Don't worry."

  After finishing the VIP card, Song Kai left, and the ten people at the table began discussing poetry again.

  The round-faced girl beside Sun Ximei pulled her arm and said, "Sister Ximei, I asked my mother and father when I went home yesterday, even they haven't heard of Nie Hong, let alone a talented person with the surname Nie. Sister Ximei, tell us the truth quickly."

  Sun Ximei munched on pickled peanuts, "How would I know?"

  "Hmph, don't try to deceive me! Do you think I wouldn't recognize your handwriting? These poems are clearly written by you," said the round-faced girl with a pout.

  As soon as this was said, everyone else turned to look at Sun Ximei.

  "Really, Sister Xi Mei?"

  "Did you really write these poems?"

  "Is the content also written by you?"

  Sun Ximei felt a wave of headaches, she quickly whispered: "Okay okay, I really don't know who wrote it, anyway Song Kai let me write like this, Meng Huan, hurry up and eat, try the braised pork."

  "No, it's too greasy," Li Menghan pouted with her round face, still pulling Sun Ximei's arm. "Ximei sister, these poems, won't they be written by that Song Kai?"

  "Ah……I don't know either," Sun Ximei placed a piece of braised pork next to Li Menghan, "This meat is stewed with medicinal herbs like cassia bark, magnolia officinalis, and angelica dahurica. It's not greasy at all, but instead has the fragrance of the medicinal herbs. You've always wanted to learn medicine from me, try some and see what this braised pork tastes like."

  "Ah! Is that so?" Li Menghan lowered his head, took a bite, and then couldn't stop praising it, devouring the whole piece in one go.

  "I regret it," Li Menghan muttered.

  "Why?" Sun Ximei wondered.

  "I should also get a... a Supreme Card or something, isn't it said that every month they launch new special dishes and you can try them for free? This braised pork is simply delicious," Li Menghuan chuckled.

  The people on the table pulled apart from the fatty meat and pulled to the venison, hunting, and then talked about this year's Mid-Autumn Festival.

  Song Kai was busy promoting his membership card, spitting flying saliva everywhere. In the afternoon, a man and a woman came into the store, they were neighbors who saw the recruitment notice and came to apply for jobs. One was applying for a shop assistant position, and the other was applying for a kitchen helper position. The one applying for the shop assistant position was a son of Wang Dama's family from not far away, named Changsheng. Changsheng had just gotten married, he was honest and didn't have any special skills, so he came here to work as a shop assistant. The one applying for the kitchen helper position was a woman named Cui Lan, she had a sturdy body, over 1.5 meters tall, weighing over 150 pounds, looking very festive.

  Song Kai was very satisfied with the two new employees, and promised to give them one yuan each month. Additionally, if they performed well, there would be a bonus at the end of the month - a piece of cloth, and free lunch in the store at noon. Chang Sheng and Cui Lan's homes were both near the Red Dust Inn, so naturally they didn't need to live in the store.

  With the addition of Changsheng and Cui Lan, Nie Lingdang finally breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't dare to show her true face to people, always having to wear a band-aid, which was quite uncomfortable.

  Song Kai beckoned Nie Tingting over with a wave of his hand, "Come here, I'll teach you how to keep accounts."

  Nie Ling Tong's eyes gleamed with excitement, "Alright, alright, from now on all the gold and money in the shop will be under my care."

  Song Kai opened his account book and said, "Did you memorize the numbers last night?"

  "Huh?" Ning Lingdang was taken aback, then lowered his head, looking like a child who had done something wrong. "I was too tired yesterday, I fell asleep after taking a bath."

  "Alright, now you continue to recite these, they are the basics. After teaching you these, I'll teach you basic addition and subtraction operations. Hmm, usually a five-year-old needs two days or so to learn this, with your IQ, I estimate three days will be enough." Song Kai said seriously.

  "That's... what did you say! You bastard," Nie Lingdang stretched out his hands and pinched Song Kai's neck.

  Song Kai put up a burst of resistance, but he suddenly discovered with sorrow that his body was no match for Nie Lingdang.

  Nie Lingdang kicked Song Kai's buttocks and then let go of him with a smile, saying: "Do you know the price of teasing me now, little bookworm?"

  "I'm going!" Song Kai's heart was secretly resentful, but he could only reluctantly accept reality. After the shop's affairs were busy, he had to exercise his body. No, he should start exercising from tonight and find a famous teacher to suppress Nie Lingdang, this seductive woman.

  Song Kai held a brush in one hand and taught Nie Lingdong basic arithmetic and simple table recording.

  At this time, a woman rushed into the shop entrance, wearing a veil on her head, walking with her head down, and when she reached the counter, she knocked on it.

  Song Kai looked up and was about to speak when he realized that the woman was a familiar face - it was Liu Yuxuan.

  Liu Yuyuan pointed to the backyard and then turned around and walked directly towards the backyard.

  "Practice well! Don't be inferior even to a five-year-old!" Song Kai said this to Nie Zhongtang before leaving.

  Nie Lingdang gazed at the backs of Song Kai and Liu Yuxuan, gritting her teeth on the pen holder, her teeth chattering, and with a splat, a drop of ink splattered onto her chest.

  Song Kai arrived at the backyard, "What's wrong, Yu Xian? Why such a hurry?"

  "Things are bad, Song Kai. My father is forcing me to get married by the end of next month..." Liu Yuyan said with a hint of helplessness and sighed.