These words were blunt, but the expressions of those in the room remained unchanged—those who were supposed to smile still smiled, and those who were meant to remain expressionless stayed just as they were.
“Master Dou, what makes you say that?” The elder who had spoken first still wore a faint smile as he asked.
“In this line of work, rivals are as good as enemies, always wishing for the other’s demise. But if mere wishes could actually kill someone, the world would have long descended into chaos.” Another person snorted, casting a cold glance at Dou Qi. “Master Dou, we’re not children anymore. Don’t say such laughable things. If business isn’t going well, look to yourself for answers instead of blaming us.”
Laughter rippled through the room.
“Master Bao, are you saying you’ve never cursed us at home?” someone teased.
“If you lot burn my family’s straw effigies first, then we’ll naturally return the favor,” the man replied coolly.
This kind of exchange, which seemed like provocation and bickering, didn’t create any real tension. On the contrary, the atmosphere became even more relaxed, and the laughter only grew louder.
Dou Qi did not laugh. Instead, his face grew even grimmer, almost ashen with fury.
“You all know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said, raising his voice. “When I, Dou Qi, first opened my shop here, I never copied a single dish from you! But look at you now—every single one of you is using my Passing Immortal! What’s the meaning of this?”
The laughter in the room came to an abrupt stop.
“Master Dou, you must be joking. None of us are making your Passing Immortal,” they said with a chuckle.
Dou Qi let out a cold laugh.
“Which is better, an immortal or a mere mortal? A carefree life is the most delightful.” He quoted the familiar lines, his tone sharp. “Now, this phrase is being sung and eaten all over the capital. I’m neither blind nor deaf. Gentlemen, isn’t this going a bit too far?”
“If you already knows about ‘eat-as-you-please’, then why bother asking?” one man replied, his smile fading into an indifferent expression.
“And what exactly is ‘eat-as-you-please’? Isn’t it just my Passing Immortal?” Dou Qi snapped, his agitation evident. A bit of the powder on his face flaked off.
“And how is that your dish?” another man frowned. “Is the pot yours? Is the fire yours? Are you saying that just because your shop uses hotpot, no one else can? Besides, nothing else about it is the same—the price alone is different. I’ve never seen your dish sell for less than two coins!”
The people in the hall burst into laughter again.
“Master Dou, let’s put it plainly,” an elderly man said, smoothing out his robe. “’Eat-as-you-please’ wasn’t something we originally planned to sell. You can ask around—at first, it was the customers themselves who wanted it. They decided how it should be made, what ingredients to use, and how to eat it. They were the ones who taught the shopkeepers how to serve it.”
“That’s why we can’t even charge much for it—after all, there’s nothing particularly valuable about it. Master Dou, if this had been something we came up with ourselves, would things have turned out this way?”
Dou Qi, of course, knew all this. That was precisely what frustrated him—both infuriating and baffling at the same time.
“This way of eating supposedly originated with scholars, who used it as a makeshift meal while enjoying outings in the countryside—there’s no denying that,” the old man continued. “Some of them had likely eaten your Passing Immortal before, which may have inspired the idea. But…” He spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “If you want to blame someone, blaming us would be unfair. If you’re truly upset, you might as well go find those scholars instead.”
Dou Qi gritted his teeth. Wasn’t this as good as saying nothing at all?!
“Master Dou, we’re all adults here,” the cold-faced man from the Bao family stood up and said. “There’s no need for that old trick of claiming something is unavailable when a customer asks for it. This is how business works. Rest assured, if your shop starts serving main courses, even if one of them happens to be the same as mine, I won’t come knocking at your door to argue. At most, I’ll just make another straw effigy.”
The room erupted into laughter.
“Exactly, exactly! Same goes for my family. But I’m even more straightforward than Master Bao—I don’t bother cursing people behind their backs.”
“Speaking of which, Master Liu, that new dish Carved Buddha you recently introduced—doesn’t it seem a bit too similar to my Jumping Buddha?”
“Oh? And so what?” Master Liu smirked. “Your family can carve a Buddha out of radish, but mine can’t?”
As he watched the people in the hall continue their endless bickering, laughing, and shouting, completely ignoring his questions, Dou Qi angrily stood up, swept his sleeves, and stormed off.
He knew there was no point in reasoning with these seasoned professionals, but not saying anything at all felt incredibly frustrating.
“Scholars?” Dou Qi gritted his teeth, raising his foot to kick a nearby flower stand in the corridor. “Which fool is ruining my business!”
The flower stand fell with a loud crash.
However, most of the private rooms were empty, so no one came out to check.
Dou Qi walked heavily down the corridor, his footsteps echoing with each step.
“How about we start serving main courses too?”
The manager said.
Before he could finish his sentence, Dou Qi cut him off sharply.
“Serve main courses now? Do you think you can just hire a cook from anywhere?” he demanded.
The manager shrank back.
“But, Master,” he couldn’t help but continue, “those other places, big and small, not only serve main courses, they even serve ‘eat-as-you-please’…”
Before he could finish, Dou Qi hurled a tea bowl at him.
“What eat-as-you-please? That’s just copying our Passing Immortal!” he yelled. “These shameless people!”
The tea bowl hit the manager on the shoulder, causing him to grimace in pain, but he didn’t dare dodge.
“Master, now is not the time to talk about this,” he said hurriedly. “Those other places are selling it, and we really can’t do anything about it.”
“It’s all the same dishes and the same equipment at every restaurant. Just because your place cooks this dish, it doesn’t mean others can’t cook it.”
Dou Qi, his face livid, slammed his fist down on the table.
“Then why can’t they just sell it for a higher price! Damn it, selling it for seven or eight coins!” he shouted.
That price wouldn’t even cover the secret sauce for a single dish at his restaurant!
“It’s clear as day they’re doing it on purpose!” he gritted his teeth and said. “They’re not trying to make money with this, they’re trying to crush me!”
“Then… do we lower the price?” the manager asked.
This suggestion earned another round of scolding from Dou Qi.
“Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?” he yelled, pointing at the manager. “How can we lower the price now? If we lower it, will my dishes still be immortal? Won’t they just be like everyone else’s? Why would anyone still come to us? They could walk into any shop and get the same thing! You idiot, how did I even hire you? My mother said you were as clever as a monkey!”
The manager was from Dou Qi’s maternal family. Seeing the Dou family’s restaurant business thriving, he came to seek a share of the profits. During the dispute over inheritance between Dou Qi and his uncles, the manager had played a significant role, offering many good ideas. As a result, Dou Qi valued him highly and, at his mother’s request, allowed him to manage the restaurant.
“I’ll go find my godfather!” Dou Qi stood up and said.
Although the manager’s face was red from the scolding, he quickly stopped him.
“Master,” he said, “the law doesn’t punish the masses.”
“Right now, it’s not just one or two restaurants doing this, it’s happening all over the capital. Can Master Liu possibly intimidate all of them?”
The capital wasn’t ruled by the Imperial Archives’ Secret Pavilion, and it certainly wasn’t a place where only Secretariat Editor Liu could call the shots.
Dou Qi angrily sat back down, sweeping his sleeves.
“Then tell me, what should we do?” he said casually.
The manager’s mind was racing quickly.
“Right now, we absolutely cannot lower the price. What we need to do is make our reputation even better, more immortal and different from the rest,” he said. “We’ll keep the price high, not everyone can afford it. It’s all about reputation, reputation, and even greater reputation…”
He walked around a few times, then suddenly clapped his hands.
“Got it! Master!” he exclaimed, kneeling in front of Dou Qi.
Dou Qi had only been venting his frustration and hadn’t expected the fool to come up with any ideas.
“What is it?” he said irritably.
“Master,” the manager moved forward a few steps, his face excited. “March 20th, that’s the date of the Grand Meditation Assembly at Puxiu Temple in the capital.”
Everyone in the capital knew about such events.
“I’m not in the mood to go offer incense to them,” Dou Qi said impatiently.
“You have to go, and you must make a big show of it. We’ll even have our godfather come forward to vouch for us,” the manager insisted.
Dou Qi looked at him, somewhat puzzled.
“Master,” the manager leaned in closer, his eyes gleaming. “Vegetarian offerings!”
Dou Qi suddenly understood, slapping the table with a snap.
At the same time, in Tai Ping Residence, Manager Wu also slammed the table.
“Third Master,” he looked at Xu Maoxiu with a serious expression and said, “This is a great opportunity!”
Xu Maoxiu looked at him, seemingly deep in thought.
“Alright,” he nodded. “You say what to do, and we’ll do it. What do you suggest?”
