TPITWOHEF

Chapter 172

"Franchise? What does that mean?"

"Is it like the imperial court opening shops that we commoners can join?"

"The imperial court says they want to make money together with us."

"!"

Not just ordinary citizens, but even some traveling merchants and peddlers who came for breakfast were stunned.

"Franchise," a scholar in a brown cloth robe with a birthmark on his temple began to interpret the flyer in his hand. "For those who want to join, the imperial court will provide training on how to open a shop, how to make milk tea, fry dough sticks... They'll even help choose store locations, arrange shop decoration, and train staff."

"!"

"!!"

For a moment, everyone in the breakfast shop looked at each other in disbelief.

Had they heard correctly?

Was this manna falling from heaven?

And it was a big piece of manna sent by the imperial court!

"Is this for real? I've traveled far and wide, but I've never heard of such a thing!"

"I've been learning to cook from my master for five years, serving him like a father, and he still often keeps secrets, refusing to teach me the special recipes! ... Now I can learn to make milk tea from the imperial court just by signing up? The imperial court will teach me?"

The sound of people slurping soy milk and tofu pudding stopped as everyone looked to the scholar with the birthmark for confirmation.

This man was originally unremarkable, and they wouldn't have dared approach him before, but now his words sounded so appealing, even better than a storyteller!

"Can anyone learn? Are there any requirements?" Everyone eagerly questioned the birthmarked scholar, surrounding him in layers.

Only the Chu State sisters in the corner of the shop let out a light snort.

"Miss," the maid Yuan lowered her voice, "it's that unreasonable Zheng Qiru! The pedantic scholar we made a bet with!"

The Chu State sisters watched as he was surrounded by the commoners in the shop and shook their heads lightly. "How naive."

"Since ancient times, business has had its ups and downs. But the Jing Country's imperial court has managed to shift all the business risks onto the common people."

"Huh?" Maid Yuan didn't understand.

Ji Qiuyue, the elder sister, quickly coughed lightly and spoke up in a gruff voice, "May I ask, brother, does this red flyer mention whether commoners need to pay money to join the franchise?"

Zheng Qiru was taken aback. He turned around and saw it was Ji Qiuyue, the person from Chu State who always liked to argue with Jing Country.

His face immediately darkened.

"Oh yeah, the imperial court teaches us how to make milk tea and dough sticks, and even helps us choose store locations. Do we have to pay money for this?" someone asked.

"Ah, I knew there couldn't be such a good thing in this world!"

Half of the people who were excited earlier dispersed and returned to their tables to continue eating tofu pudding.

Zheng Qiru pursed his lips. "Everyone, it's quite normal to pay. Apprentices pay their masters to learn a trade, and students pay tuition to study in schools. How much more so for royal milk tea and dough stick shops?"