The Empress’ Livestream

“My lord, Ping feels that this is rather strange…”

 Jiang Pengji smiled as she held a pair of chopsticks and asked him, “What is strange?”

 She took Zhang Ping along to patrol all the drainage sites within Xiangyang district, they discovered the piping for the draining of water was functioning well. Coincidentally, the sun was at its hottest and both their stomachs were empty. They entered an eatery and found seats and intended to have their meal here by ordering a few dishes.

 Coincidentally, this eatery was opened by the government and named — Gourmet House. She surveyed the surroundings, the eatery had been simply but elegantly renovated. The environment was relaxing and it’s a pleasant place to have one’s meal. Wei Ci had indeed decorated this place well.

 Shortly after they took their seats, the curtains to the private room were pulled apart and a waiter who had lost his left hand walked in. The waiter looked at Jiang Pengji and Zhang Ping in surprise and was momentarily stumped before he knelt in haste.

 “Your servant greets the lord!”

 The eatery was started by the government and the workers within are either injured soldiers who have retired from the army or family members of soldiers who lost their lives during the war. This waiter before them left the army because of his disability. He has obtained a position as the waiter in the eatery.

 Although he is a waiter, he was also an ex-soldier who has fought on battlefields so he can work here and he is able to support his family of three with his income.

 Up till now, the veteran soldiers were determined to continue their morning trainings and although they are handicapped, their energy level has not waned.

 Jiang Pengji said, “Get up, Xiheng and I are only here to have a meal. There’s no need for these vain etiquettes.”

 The waiter obeyed and got up; he was still rather uptight.

 Jiang Pengji accepted a scroll of bamboo script which contained the eatery’s menu.

 The suggestions proposed by the viewers in the live streaming room is that on every bamboo script the name of a dish will be written and they will be classified accordingly, which is a refreshing sight.

 She read the menu once through then ordered two to three vegetarian dishes and two non-vegetarian dishes. Afterwards, she passed the menu to Zhang Ping and used this time to ask some questions. She asked the veteran soldier who retired from the army how his life has been, the soldier slowly became bolder and was less restrained.

 Every question she asked was replied by the soldier with all honesty.

 “Replying to my lord, my days are passing well. A few months ago, I married my wife with the help of a matchmaker. She is already three months pregnant. The workload at the eatery is manageable, I will clean the area from 5am to 7am daily. Thereafter, I will prepare to start the business and close the eatery at 9pm to 11pm. Every month, I will receive two rounds of salary which covers my household expenditures for food and clothing. I also get to save a substantial amount of money. My wife is very hardworking and she sews woollen clothing at home…”

 She asked in detail and the soldier had endless words to say. His face reddened somewhat and it didn’t appear to turn sad or gloomy.

 Zhang Ping silently flipped through the menu 17 to 18 times to give his lord some “buffer” time.

 Nuli Chungao: “He starts work between 5 to 7am and ends work at 9 to 11pm… why not forget it and start work at 5am and end at 9pm? Is that too exhausting? Observing that he lost his left hand, is his daily living very inconvenient? If it’s in the present era, his hand can probably be fixed… But in the ancient era…Sigh, you’ll be handicapped for life.”

 Zhengqu Xiayue Baofa: “Listening to their conversation intently, this veteran soldier will receive 3 years of compensation for his injury which adds up to quite a substantial amount. Assuming both the roles of a waiter and guard, he receives two people’s salary… his life should be alright?”

 Having watched the livestream for some time, the viewers understood Jiang Pengji’s current situation, the lives of these soldiers are not too bad.

 Banye Xiuxian: “Speaking of which, why is the compensation given to the injured and handicapped given in phases over three years, why not just give it in one amount?”

 Woyu Chengxian: “Based on my analysis, there are two reasons. Firstly, the streamer’s burden is heavy since it isn’t just one soldier who is injured or dead. Secondly, if the money is not well budgeted and all is spent, what about the future? I believe these three years of compensation is to give the veteran soldiers some buffer time. Within three years, with patience, one will surely learn skills for a livelihood. When that time comes, even without this compensatory money, they will be able to support themselves.”

 Although the viewers in the livestream room did not guess completely correctly, it did not differ much from her intentions. The veteran soldiers are hardworking, the wives they married are capable, seeing their families working together harmoniously is a sight to behold.

 She nodded her head; Zhang Ping passed the menu back to the soldier with eyes full of interest.

 When the veteran soldier walked away, Zhang ping said, “The eatery business is doing well.”

 The eatery’s delicacies tasted extremely good and whenever it was mealtimes, the eatery was usually filled. Although it’s pricier by four to five times, there are still people who will patronise it. Of course, the people don’t have the means to eat here often, but to support sometimes is feasible.

 Jiang Pengji added, “When the eatery business stabilises, I intend to let the kitchen chefs pass the recipes of common dishes to other eateries in the district.”

 He was startled and couldn’t react quickly. Why did the lord suddenly raise this issue?

 Jiang Pengji added, “Government officials do not compete with the people for benefits, neither can the people compete with us. Business at the Gourmet House is good enough and if it continues to expand, it will surely suppress the people’s eatery businesses. This is contradictory to my original intention. If the kitchen makes known their menu, the people can try cheap and delicious food. The Gourmet House will continue to head towards becoming a premium eatery and both businesses will not affect each other.”

 She thought long and hard about what to name the eatery. Eventually, she decided to adopt a viewer’s suggestion to name it “Gourmet House”.

 To put it plainly, the issue lies with their target customers. The eateries that the average citizen visits will serve the same group of people. A meal will not cost them much, but the Gourmet House’s food is rather pricey and their target audiences are those with the financial ability, they aim to cater to the people of middle and high-class socio-economic status and to differentiate between them as much as possible.

 Jiang Pengji doesn’t lack monetarily. She could still bear the cost of compensating the injured soldiers, she has no need to crazily snatch the average citizens’ business.

 He finally understood and he couldn’t help but feel emotional. When she’s unreliable, his lord is truly not dependable at all. Yet even if the lord is dependable, a virtuous lord is only as such. How many of those who ascended the throne had such insatiable appetite for the people’s wealth, only his lord was impartial and enforced strict rules against corruption.

When both spoke to each other, coughing sounds which made one anxious drifted from the eating room opposite.

 Zhang Ping suddenly thought of something and he said, “My lord, Ping recalled what went wrong.”

 As he spoke, there’s another coughing sound!

 For a long time, Zhang Ping had constantly heard a coughing sound. Previously, he was nagging at someone who was shopping around while sick, yet now he wore a serious expression. He lifted his hands to unsheathe the dagger by his waist, his eyes looked warily towards the source of where the coughing sound came from.

 They had been followed by someone all along!

 She laughed, then signalled to him with her hands, “Keep it away, it is just a meal.”

 Zhang Png is a homely, literate man, completely ignorant about martial arts, while Jiang Pengji isn’t. She knew from the start that someone was following them.

 He was stunned, but before the waiter served the dishes, he replaced his dagger in the sheath.

 “My lord, you knew it all along?” Zhang Ping asked.

 “Otherwise?” Jiang Pengji’s laughed as she leaned her body sideways so that it’s easier for the waiter to set the dishes. “Who doesn’t recognise this face in Xiangyang district? I am not a popular person, if anyone has a grudge against me, what if he takes advantage of the situation when I am alone to harm me? If your lord doesn’t even have this sense of caution, how would I dare to bring only five men to stroll around the entire district? Eat your meal, after eating we will meet the person next door.”

 As soon as her voice dissipated, the coughing sound became worse.

 Zhang Ping: “…”