As soon as they heard that it was Li Yao's idea, some people found it reliable.
After all, in the present Baichuan County, Li Yao is synonymous with reliability. Whatever business she undertakes, she always makes a big profit.
"We are willing to believe in the County Magistrate and Lady Li," said Liu Yuanwai. "But we don't know what the Magistrate wants us to do."
"Since it's a celebration, it naturally requires the sale of goods, as well as restaurants and inns. You all need to make some preparations in advance, or else when people arrive, they won't be able to eat or find a place to stay. Lady Li and I have made detailed plans, which you can review. Those who need to rent stalls can register with the Shiyemen."
Zhang Guangsheng took the plan and looked at it. He discovered that the center of the celebration was actually an empty space outside the city, where even the neck would be strained.
"Who would come to such a place to buy things in this hot weather?"
"And," Zhang Guangsheng continued, "the best locations have already been occupied by the county government and Lady Li. We can only take some corner spots. Isn't that unreasonable?"
"Lady Li has provided a lot of financial support and ideas for the celebration," said Song County Magistrate. "If any of you want those stalls, just contribute the same amount as Lady Li."
Compete with Li Yao in terms of wealth?
Forget it, everyone knows Li Yao has so much money these days that there's no place to put it.
After careful consideration, everyone quickly rented the remaining stalls, and the various shops on the street promised to be well prepared.
Only two people stood aside without moving.
"What about you two?" asked Song County Magistrate. "This is a good opportunity to make money."
"Haha, let's leave this good opportunity to you," Zhang Guangsheng laughed. "My Zhangji Restaurant has been neglected for years, and I'm planning to renovate it. I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up with this good fortune."
"What about Old Master Wu?"
Old Master Wu, who had previously intended to marry his daughter to Li Xian, was not happy with Li Yao because of that incident.
So this time, he naturally couldn't follow behind Li Yao. It was a matter of pride as a local gentleman in Baichuan County.
"Magistrate, I'm getting old, and my sons at home are all useless. I'm afraid I can't participate this time."
It's fine if two people are missing. After reminding everyone again, Song County Magistrate let everyone disperse.
But when they reached the gate of the county government, Zhang Guangsheng turned to the others and said, "You all fell for it!"
"Oh, what do you mean?"
"Haven't you figured it out?" Zhang Guangsheng said. "Why do you think the Magistrate organized this celebration?"
"Naturally, it's for the benefit of Baichuan County."
"Perhaps it's for his own benefit," Zhang Guangsheng said. "The fees for the stalls just now amounted to two thousand taels of silver! So no matter how this celebration turns out, those two thousand taels have already gone into his pocket."
"But we should be able to earn it back, right?"
"Yes, when divided among everyone, it's not much," Zhang Guangsheng said. "But what if no one comes to the celebration? Then not only will you lose the stall fees, but all the prepared goods will go to waste."
"Zhang Boss," He Jiajing couldn't bear to listen anymore, "If you're not participating, then don't spread misleading words here."
"Am I deceiving the public with my false words?" Zhang Guangsheng sneered, "If you want to be fooled, I won't stop you. But this time at Zhangji Restaurant, I will not prepare an extra pound of ingredients. In the end, we'll see who will cry and who will laugh!"
After saying that, Zhang Guangsheng flicked his sleeve and left gracefully.
His words made everyone feel uneasy.
"Don't listen to his nonsense," said He Jiajing, "We should trust Li Yao's judgment."
"Yes, yes, let's do what we need to do!"
"The celebration is only a few days away, and we don't have much time left."
...
While others were making preparations, the Song County Magistrate instructed people to notify the villages.
The celebration had allocated some stalls to each village, and they were mostly free, so that the common people could sell some things. This would not only provide them with additional income but also add to the festivities.
The county government also had some stalls, thanks to Li Yao's suggestion.
They mainly sold goods that were not easily available, such as products from the capital or Jiangnan.
The Song County Magistrate did not want to profit alone, so he allowed the county officials to pool their resources and share the profits according to their contributions.
As for the two thousand taels of stall fees collected, they would be used to purchase celebration supplies.
They made paper lanterns, invited opera troupes and acrobats, and following Li Yao's suggestion, they prepared many temporary tents for the accommodation of those who traveled from afar.
He also planned to organize a poetry gathering with the scholars of Baichuan County, so they had to build a temporary bamboo pavilion that would be fitting for the scholars' atmosphere.
All of these required money, and a lot of it.
After reading the story of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid, the magistrate's wife was deeply moved and wanted to create a large-scale lantern depicting the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid. However, she couldn't come up with a good enough idea, so she sought Li Yao's advice again.
"Why not make a lantern that can fly in the sky?" Li Yao suggested. "Let's have a real meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid in the sky."
"A lantern that can fly in the sky?" asked the magistrate's wife. "How can it fly?"
"It's simple."
A lantern that flies in the sky is actually made up of many Kongming lanterns connected by slender bamboo strips. As for how they meet, it is naturally done by people on the ground pulling them with long strings.
In theory, it is feasible, but it depends on the weather.
Everyone was busy, and Li Yao couldn't fall behind.
The Song County Magistrate allocated the largest area to Hewan Village, with hundreds of stalls. Li Yao made a rough plan and allocated half of the stalls to the villagers, leaving the other half for the Wang family.
As for what to sell, besides the authentic delicacies of Hewan Village, there would be various amusement activities.
Games such as archery, hoop throwing, beanbag tossing, duck catching, and wild chicken grabbing, all of these highly profitable game options were copied from Li Yao's ideas.
"Mother, I have decided what food to sell," He Xiaoya said, holding a piece of paper in front of Li Yao. "Take a look and see if anything is missing?"
Stewed snacks, deep-fried meatballs, grilled skewers, breaded tofu, and iron plate grilled meat were on the list prepared by He Xiaoya.
Li Yao felt that there were still many missing items, such as iron plate squid, stinky tofu, grilled sausages, and oden. There was also a lack of cold noodles, cold rice noodles, and egg fried rice, which made her feel that it wasn't quite like a night market.
Forget about stinky tofu and iron plate squid, but grilled sausages, oden, as well as cold noodles and cold rice noodles can still be made.
Since there were more and more chili peppers, Li Yao decided to chop them up and make some green pepper sauce to mix with the cold noodles and cold rice noodles. It would definitely be well received.
"The potatoes in the field are already as big as quail eggs," Li Yao said. "Dig some out and make some grilled potato skewers."
"Mom, please teach us!"
Under Li Yao's guidance, the family began to learn how to make grilled sausages and oden. Although they were lacking some ingredients, Li Yao believed that as long as these things appeared, they would quickly develop and become better.
It wouldn't be long before she could enjoy authentic grilled sausages and oden on the street.
"Madam Li," Chun Ning also found Li Yao and said, "Actually, I can also make some snacks."
"What can you make?"
"I can make roujiamo, liangpi, hulu head," Chun Ning thought for a moment and said, "and I can also make biangbiang noodles."
Biangbiang noodles were a traditional delicacy from western Sichuan. In her previous life, Li Yao had only heard of it but never had the chance to try it.
"I'll assign 10 people to you, and you can teach them how to make it."
"Thank you, Madam! Chun Ning will definitely do a good job and not disgrace Madam's reputation."