56 - Chapter 50
There was only a month or so left until the harvest festival and the launch of her new restaurant.
So there was a lot to do. The first thing Sa Bina had to do was to work out if the venue would actually be ready by the deadline, well ideally a week or so beforehand. She had to remind herself that in this world a week was ten days long and there were three weeks in a month. That would give her the opportunity to test everything and allow time for any issues to be fixed.
She also had to finalise the menu, taste the dishes, send out the invites, and do a million other things. She decided to hold meetings one by one with her retainers to work out what was where.
She asked to start with Lou Sie and Be Net, as they would be the ones left to manage the monumental task. She could then cycle through the others as needed. By now everyone was used to these group meetings and were comfortable participating.
“So,” she started. “How long before the event should we be inviting people? What is polite and what can we get away with?”
“Well,” said Be Net. “Normally we would have to give as much notice as possible. We are already stretching politeness. It may already cause us to receive more rejections than we would otherwise have. Ideally we should send out the invites this week.”
“That leads to my next question,” said Sa Bina. “How much do we have to reveal in the invitation and what can we leave to the imagination.”
“We will have to inform them that this is an invitation from a diplomat,” said Be Net. “Yes, I know you are going to say that it’s a business opening, but it is still part of this estate, as such we would have to send out a formal invite to a diplomatic event. It is also your formal introduction to the noble houses. So we need to be as prim and proper as possible.”
“I understand,” said Sa Bina. Sometimes the rules of decorum caused her more pain than Sun Li’s unrelenting training. “So do we create the invitations ourselves, or have them created for us?”
“We can get the invitations crafted,” said Lou Sie. “Then we just fill in the names and send our retainers to deliver them.”
“Do we have a list of who we want to invite?” asked Sa Bina. “And will we have enough space?”
“Do you plan to do a sit down dinner?” asked Be Net. “Or a more informal event.”
“It will depend on the numbers,” said Sa Bina. “We also need to arrange some entertainment.”
“We will need to make some decisions,” said Be Net after some thought. “However, we can call it an informal introduction. That way we can manage expectations and it will give us the flexibility to change the format somewhat.
“What entertainment did you have in mind?” asked Lou Sie.
“Well,” said Sa Bina. “I have no idea what is appropriate, maybe some form of music, or some sort of performers, maybe even someone from the sect to put on a colourful display like fireworks. We can hold auditions to see what works well.”
“So to answer your question,” said Lou Sie. “I do not think we will have trouble filling the venue. I think we should create a selection of invitation lists. Send out the ones from the first list, and then add from the subsequent lists as we get confirmation on who is attending or not.”
“I will leave you to manage that,” said Sa Bina. “Just make sure you check with Sun Li and invite the appropriate people from the sect.”
“They are already on the list,” said Lou Sie.
“Next, where are we on staffing?” asked Sa Bina.
“We are still hiring more retainers,” said Be Net. “But we have more than enough staff to cater to a full house. It may impact some of the bakeries' work if we need to pull people from that though.”
“Well, if it does, then we will have to live with it,” said Sa Bina. “Let’s move on, and start with Pan Deming. When do we anticipate that the venue will be finished?”
“We are just putting the final decorative touches on the building,” said Pan Deming. “We should be able to start to use the venue in roughly fifteen days. Although it may be possible to start accessing the kitchen sooner.”
“Good,” said Sa Bina. Honestly she was surprised by the speed at which cultivators could achieve things. It put modern building methods to shame. It was entirely possible to build crude houses by the dozens in a single day. "He Sen, how are the various glassware coming along?”
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“We have finished with the bottles already my lady,” said He Sen. “The coloured glass was tricky to get right, but with the help from Liu Wen, we managed. We are working on the various glass designs you showed us. We should have sufficient stock in time, though they are fragile.”
“We also have alternative arrangements in place,” said Lou Sie. “Just in case.”
“Good,” replied Sa Bina. “Moving on to He Mai, how are the new types of alcohol coming along, and will we have enough stock for the night and then to keep up service?”
“That will depend very much on how much is consumed,” said He Mai. “Also it will depend on how much the new styles of alcohol are liked by our guests. I have to say, they are very different from what I am used to.”
“That we will have to see,” said Sa Bina. Her retainers had become a lot more comfortable around her, especially when asked for their opinions. “That is why we are packaging them in attractive bottles to generate more interest. Moving on Gao Ye, how are all the various artefacts coming along. Will they be ready and working in time?”
“The main items, such as the fridge, freezer and kitchen items should be ready in the next ten days or so,” he replied. “However with the more decorative touches, we will be working up to the last day to get everything done. The team is following your priority order, but there is still a lot to do. Also, we are getting beast cores, but not nearly enough. Due to the impurity and instability of the energy, we are using significantly more than we expected.”
“That is an issue,” said Sa Bina. “Please do everything you can to get it all finished. The ambiance will be very important in making the most of the launch. Han Ji, how are the arrangements of the security of the event and also what can we do to increase the number of beast cores that we are obtaining.”
“We will need to send out more patrols and hunting teams,” said Han Ji. “I know we need these beast cores, but it could potentially leave us vulnerable to attacks. The new recruits' training is progressing well, but we can’t send them out yet. We will be able to secure the event, but it will mean no patrols on that day.”
“Perhaps,” said Sa Bina. “We can pair the recruits with experienced hands for the event to give them some additional training and make use of them too. Also we should let our people know not to move anything on that day, so that we don’t run the risk of losing caravans. That leaves us with Su Niu. How are crops coming along?” Su Niu had been promoted to oversee everything farming related, with additional farmers joining to manage the substantially larger farming operation.
“They seem to be coming along well my lady,” said Su Niu. “We may even be able to get a crop before the event, but it will not be ready to use. It will take time to thresh then dry the crop.”
“So we need to make sure we have sufficient stock,” said Sa Bina. “Be Net, can we please make sure we have enough supplies not just for the opening, but also that it will not cause problems for our bakeries or our retainers.”
“That is already in hand,” said Be Net. “However due to our bakeries and due to coming close to the end of a harvest cycle, we are finding the prices are higher than we anticipated. It will cost us more, until we can supply our own needs from our own farm.”
“Yes, “ said Sa Bina. “I had thought things would get more expensive. I know I have upset a lot of people, so they are probably using this as an opportunity to make us pay. What sort of price increase are we looking at.”
“Between 30% and 75% increase on normal pricing,” said Be Net. “It will not be sustainable long term. Our bread is already priced at a premium, I am not sure we have much room to increase prices. We will have to absorb the additional costs.”
That was not great. Grains and fresh produce were a necessity in all her businesses. It was needed directly for both baking and brewing. The rest was to feed her herd of milk producing mammals. As it turned out that this world did not have cows. The milk came from a mix of horses, and creatures resembling reindeer and kangaroos. The milk was very different from cow milk and it had taken experimentation to produce the variety of cheeses, though Sa Bina was happy with the final results.
“We are going to have to accept the losses,” said Sa Bina. “Let us stock up on as much as we can get our hands on. I am expecting the demand to increase after our presentation at the event. So what are our next steps?”
“We will draft an invitation and bring it to you for approval,” said Lou Sie. “I will also start to find the entertainment that you asked for.”
“Great,” said Sa Bina. “I know that you have all been working very hard. This is the opportunity for us to maximise our exposure. So let us keep up the pressure and try to create a smooth event.”
With that Sa Bina dismissed everyone. She would make sure to meet everyone for updates on progress at least every half week. With that Sa Bina returned to her own training.
***
Be Net and Lou Sie had decided to work on the invitations together.
“So what do you think about this planned event,” said Lou Sie.
“I am concerned about the lady,” said Be Net. “This event will be a mix of two very different things. She is representing the house, and the kingdom in the first diplomatic affair. I am not sure it will come across well that she is mixing it with a business activity. What are your thoughts on the matter?”
“I don’t know,” said Lou Sie. “I think we can present it as a showcase of the cuisine of our kingdom. Then we are holding a diplomatic event and promoting our kingdom, and letting our guests enjoy something new and different.”
“You have been spending too much time with our lady,” said Be Net. “This will be the first formal interaction with the great noble houses. How she comes across will set the tone for future interactions. You do not get a second chance to make a first impression.”
“I know,” said Lou Sie. “But lady Sa Bina is stubborn. You and I can only nudge her. If she gets set on a course of action there is no changing her mind. We can only go along with her plans and help her as much as she will let us.”
“I can’t help but worry,” said Be Net. “Anyway, we have a lot to do, so let us start on this invitation wording and design. Let us hope the lady will approve something more traditional here at least.”
With that they both got to work.